As Ireland gears up for its 7th EU treaty this week, its first spanning back 40 years to May 1972, the words transparency and accountability have never been more recurrent or germane in political life.

Five years into an economic crisis, that gained stunning momentum with the fall of the Celtic Tiger, unparalleled recession, Eurozone crisis and austerity, these two adjectives are paramount in any public representative’s political or legislative analysis. 

At the height of the pomp these words were used infrequently at best, because what did it really matter when the Exchequer was full and public spending was plentiful.  Well as we all know now, they matter a lot.  Whilst some will use these words for political expediency, one thing is for sure they cannot be ignored because they are the bedrock of political life.

We’ve had many examples of failings in the North in recent weeks and months, one of note being the PAC’s review of The Bioscience and Technology Institute (BTI), where a process appears not to have been transparent with accountability coming home to roost.  So for me the big question as regards the process of this Irish referendum is why ever will Enda not make this process more open and engage in a leader’s debate? 

Calls from Micheál Martin, Gerry Adams and Richard Boyd Barrett amongst others have fallen on deaf ears.   The Taoiseach has been steadfast in his opposition to a debate on this issue and he must believe that transparency and accountability is reflected in his canvassing in towns and villages throughout the Country.  The issue is that he is leaving himself and the ratification of this treaty open to further ridicule from those who accuse him of being unable to control proceedings in a debate and avoid the many difficult questions of what a yes vote actually means.

His political colleagues have appeared uncomfortable in defending him and the no campaign has been bolstered by people who are bewildered by what they would be voting for, if they voted yes.  This EU fiscal union is complex, yet there has been no attempt to put all the cards on the table with the political leaders setting out the permutations for the nation to consider.  Is this referendum as important as the campaign to see who should reside at Áras an Uachtaráin, I would dare say with all that is riding on it, it is. So why not give it the same platform?  Perhaps that is what Enda is afraid of, for the Government this is a must win referendum and many commentators would agree that free and open debate has never been his strongest attribute.  Some media headlines in recent days have inferred that this decision is cowardly.  For me it demonstrates a lack of political leadership.  Whether it is the case or not it could be argued that he is putting self interest first by refusing a debate which would inform what is a highly politicised public in global terms.  After what has been a decent start he is making similar mistakes to his predecessors, something which has been borne out in opinion polls and is only likely to come back and bite him at a later date.

As for the most recent opinion polls for the referendum it appears Enda will get away with it, at least for the meantime.  At its most basic level it is being fought between the middle class and the working class with Fine Gael firmly positioned the lead party of the middle class who by and large will vote yes in contrast to the working class, of which many will oppose.   Once again Sinn Fein has been effective in mobilising its support and communicating its ‘austerity isn’t working’ message – supported by a well timed Ard Fheis.  The good news for the Coalition is that the no vote which sat at around 63% when the fiscal union was being negotiated last October is down to about a third of that with the yes campaign now 17 points or so in the driving seat.  However, in a boost to the no campaign the pro European Independent TD Shane Ross has jumped firmly into its camp, stating that the Irish people are voting in a twilight zone.  In a plea that must be more in exasperation than hope he believes a postponement is still possible.  By postponing to 2013, he suggests there will be more clarity when the Irish people will have sight of the full package including changes to soften austerity, any potential growth measures and the impact of the Greek crisis.

Who knows maybe Enda will call a debate for tomorrow and then decide to postpone until there is more clarity – then again maybe his beloved Mayo will go on to thrash all before them to win this year’s All – Ireland title.  The reality is none of these things are going to happen. The Taoiseach knows that amongst a significant majority of people there is a belief that Ireland cannot say no to this referendum now or at anytime, irrespective of their knowledge, or lack therein, as regards the intricacies of an EU fiscal union.  Whilst talking with an eminent economist this week who was supporting the treaty, he suggested to me that Ireland’s future fiscal autonomy would be something similar to Northern Ireland’s current position in the UK with Ireland’s closely guarded corporate tax setting powers dissipating over time.

Whatever of this analogy there is a lot to come down the river in the coming months and years ahead, and much of it isn’t going to be money.  For today it appears that the Irish people are content to opt for better the devil you know, or you ‘kinda know’, as opposed to the devil you don’t.  

Claire Aiken is Managing Director of Public Relations and Public Affairs company Aiken PR