The Yes vote’s lead in the Lisbon treaty campaign has been cut dramatically over the past 10 days and now stands at between 8% to 10%, according to two new polls.

The latest Red C poll shows that the gap between Yes and No has narrowed by two points to 8% over the past two weeks. A second poll, commissioned privately by Libertas, shows a 10-point lead for Yes.

The Red C poll shows that voters are finally making up their minds about the Lisbon treaty in advance of the June 12 referendum. The undecideds are down eight points to 26% as the debate about the treaty’s abstruse text sharpens.

The one-off survey by a respected polling company for Libertas, the leading group in the No campaign, found that 33% are intent on voting Yes, with 23% saying No and 44% undecided or not planning to vote. The larger undecided vote may be explained by the fact that the poll was taken earlier.

It shows that the No vote, while smaller, is more committed than the Yes side and more likely to turn out. It also shows higher numbers of No voters among farmers and supporters of Fine Gael, and higher numbers of undecideds among women. Farmers and Fine Gael voters have traditionally been among the most pro-European in referendums.

The government, which is facing a difficult final fortnight of campaigning, insisted that it was encouraged by the fact that the Yes vote was up “in spite of the incredible barrage of aggressive attacks on the treaty”.

Micheal Martin, minister for foreign affairs, said: “The scale and ferocity of these attacks — threatening economic and social ruin — makes the result significant, showing the Irish public refuses to demonise the EU.

“We know that the attacks will continue and there are a lot of people who have still to decide. That’s why we are taking nothing for granted and are going to redouble our efforts over the next 18 days.”

The company which carried out the poll for Libertas cannot be named for commercial and contractual reasons but is a reputable firm with long experience.

Its poll found that only one third of registered voters had heard of Libertas, even though it is effectively leading the No campaign. Of those who had heard of the organisation, almost three out of four had an “unfavourable” view compared with just over a quarter who held a “favourable view”.

The Red C poll, published in today’s Sunday Business Post, finds an increase in the number of farmers planning to vote Yes but confirms that the number of No voters among Fine Gael supporters is higher than among the other pro-Lisbon Dail parties.

Senior government figures have been privately critical of Fine Gael in recent weeks for failing to increase support for the treaty within the party’s support base. One minister said: “They have been criticising Fianna Fail and others for failing to do this or that in the campaign. A lot of their No vote may also represent large farmers who have traditionally supported the party.”

The Red C poll, conducted between Monday and Wednesday, showed Fianna Fail increasing its share of the vote by two points to reach 40%, as it enjoys a bounce from the election of Brian Cowen as taoiseach. Fine Gael’s support was down one point to 28%, Labour was unchanged on 10%, but the Greens fell three points to 5% while Sinn Fein rose two points to 9%. Gerry Adams’s party may be benefiting from being the only Dail party opposed to the Lisbon treaty.

Declan Ganley, chairman of Libertas, welcomed the poll results on the basis that it indicated an intensive spending spree by treaty supporters had not worked. “Despite two weeks of intensive campaigning by the Yes side and repeated personal attacks on people opposed to the treaty, the gap has narrowed,” he said. “The referendum campaign will go down to the wire.”

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