Coir has come under the spotlight in recent weeks as a result of their posters which campaign for a No vote in the upcoming Lisbon referendum. The posters inform the general public about halving of the Irish voting power in Europe, the fact that most Europeans would vote against the treaty if they got the chance, and the threat of small farmers’ livelihoods.
Minister Michael Martin has accused Coir of spreading lies and myths.
Speaking in reaction Maria Buckley of Coir Athlone said “All of our posters contain facts and have been checked and rechecked over the past year by a group of unbiased barristers. Some of the posters contain facts from Eurostat the official EU statistics office. These facts are available on our website www.coircampaign.org
Ms Buckley fully welcomes the public to check it for themselves. She continued, “The Yes campaign has only mudslinging and smears for their campaign because they cannot refute the truth…They are...avoiding debates on the content of the Treaty as their slogans are repeated vacuous mantras which have no substance.”
Maria stated that “Not once in the past week has the Yes campaign contradicted or even attempted to contradict the poster on the voting structure if Lisbon passes, simply because it is true. Yet they use clichés like 'Yes will make us stronger' how can they back up this claim? They cannot. In fact a Yes vote will put us at the bottom end of the influential line with the reduction to 0.8 per cent of voting power. Let’s talk plainly - we would reduce our voice to a bare whisper.”
