The PD Minister of State for Finance, Mr Tom Parlon, said his party had received a mandate in the general election to ratify the Nice Treaty.

"The small opposition parties who campaigned against a further referendum cannot credibly argue that their minority opposition position is the only valid democratic one."

He said that the EU, from the original six members to 15, had always shared decision-making by pooling sovereignty. "The Nice Treaty does the same in order to make way for more member- states. What is the surprise? There is no threat to Ireland here. That is the way the EU works."

Mr Parlon said that under the Nice Treaty, Ireland would keep the same right to a commissioner as Britain, France, Germany and every other member-state. "The big member-states are actually losing their second commissioner. It is equal and fair for Ireland. There is no threat here to our interests either."

Ms Liz O'Donnell (PD, Dublin South) said that participating on an equal basis in the shaping of Europe had been good for Ireland, socially and politically. She added that she had always suspected that the real reasons conservative forces in Irish life had consistently opposed European membership for Ireland was because they saw clearly that it would bring change.

"The closed and inward society they could control would not survive an open European model. Europe always represented progress at the end of the authoritarian, conservative, narrow nationalism that was the hallmark of Irish life for much of the life of the State."

Ms O'Donnell asked where the women were in the No campaign. "There are no women TDs opposing Nice. Is not that more than a coincidence? There are no women TDs among the Greens and Sinn Féin at all, of course. If the young and old conservative men in the No to Nice campaign have any women supporters, where are they? And when did the No to Nice campaign men ever speak out for, or stand with, women for equality and women's rights?"

Ms O'Donnell said that those who wanted to keep the State moving towards liberal values and greater equality must vote Yes in the referendum.