Government 'bullying voters into Yes vote'

Opponents of the EU Fiscal Treaty have today accused the Government of attempting to bully and intimidate voters into voting Yes on Thursday.

It follows comments by the Jobs Minister Richard Bruton who said Ireland would get a frosty reception in the boardrooms of big companies if the country votes No.

Minister Bruton said that investors will not come to Ireland unless the Government has access to a guaranteed source of funding outside of the markets.

"I can tell you from going into the boardrooms they are bothered about how we vote," he said.

"This is an issue that comes up regularly, because these companies are investing in Ireland as a gateway to Europe. 

"That's why they pick Ireland. It's English-speaking, they have very good people here, but also it is a gateway to Europe, and they want Ireland to be strategically placed within Europe."

Richard Boyd Barrett from the People Before Profit party said that the Minister is attempting to bully voters.

"That's more bullying from the Government," he said. "The Government's entire campaign is bullying. 

"Threats, nightmare scenarios about money not coming out of ATMs - in reality the reason multinationals come to this country is because they make huge profits in this country and nothing about this treaty being passed or rejected is going to affect the enormous profits that are made by multinationals in Ireland."