Lisbon hits Dublin streets
Dublin: Arrived in Dublin to sound out how the Irish will vote on . The plane was full and I briefly wondered whether activists from elsewhere were being drawn into the campaign, until I realised that the big attraction was the 250th anniversary of Guinness.
However you can sense the anxiety seeping out of Brussels, that the Irish might vote "No" again, by the visits to the country. The European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, was in Limerick last weekend. He said Ireland's decision would be respected but a "No" vote would be "very negative for all Europe including, of course, Ireland".
On the streets you detect at once that you are in the midst of a rough campaign, with claim and counter-claim. "Yes to jobs," says one poster. "Enough is Enough. Vote 'no'." "Yes keeps Ireland's commissioners," says another poster. Another claims that 1.84 euros would be the minimum wage after Lisbon. "The EU loves control. Vote 'no'," says another. And so it goes on. Arguments played out on the street.
What is apparent this time is that big business is putting muscle and money behind the "Yes" campaign. Michael O'Leary, the head of Ryanair, is taking the fight to the "No" campaign. But so are big international companies like Pfizer and Intel.
Most people seem to agree that the key factor in all this is the economy, which has simply collapsed. The Celtic Tiger is no more. Ministers tell voters that it is the European Central Bank that has provided a lifeline to Ireland's financial system.
I've had a glimpse of just how severe the slump is here. I visited the town of Longford. On the surface it has all the bustle of a typical small Irish town. But just outside I was taken to a recently-built estate. A total of 150 houses were going to be built. Many have been finished and they are up-market. They were expected to sell for 360,000 euros (£325,000). Most were finished a year ago. The only problem is that almost no one has moved in. It is a ghost village. Much of the estate is unfinished. The houses are shells, testimony to the day the money ran out. I am told there are estates like this across Ireland. Quite simply a bubble of speculation burst.
So the argument that may well play best here is that a country in trouble needs Europe. Or rather, must not disappoint powerful friends.
Some of the arguments are passionate on both sides. A "No" vote would mean "we had lost ourselves in the modern world". Or another Irish "No" would represent "a spiritual withdrawal from Europe". Another claimed Ireland was "almost literally being held hostage by 'Yes' supporters".
To me it seems little of the argument is about the treaty itself and its impact on ordinary people, but tomorrow I hope to attend a debate between some of the key players in this drama.
I'm 
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