When the dust started to settle on the result of the Lisbon Referendum at the weekend, one of the strongest reasons given for voting “no” was “I didn’t understand it, so I voted no” or “they didn’t tell me what it meant so I voted no”.

And there is no doubt that the strategy of the Yes campaign, to rely on a general message of “the EU has been good to us, vote yes”, was simply ineffective in the face of a well-organised and more issues driven campaign by the No side. They started early, they were clear, they were consistent, they were committed and they got equal air time. The concerns they raised were not allayed by the admission by the Taoiseach that he hadn’t read the Treaty.

It is clear, in hindsight, that a large part of the electorate was left scratching its head when it came to polling day. The consensus seems to be that politicians on the Yes side did not go out and effectively communicate the benefits of the Treaty to them. It wasn’t enough to say “trust us” when the range of questions raised by the No side had taken hold and created sufficient doubt and confusion.

The upshot of the result is a political crisis for Ireland in Europe and for the EU itself.

All for want of better communication.