Voters face a simple choice on Thursday. Do they want to give more powers to the EU or not? That seems a pretty straightforward question to me, and no doubt it does to you too.

But this is not the issue that the Yes campaign wants to debate. They want people to answer a completely different question, one that does not appear on any ballot paper. They are trying to turn this into a referendum on whether Ireland should be “in or out” of the EU.

The issue is about power, but the Yes side doesn’t want to make this case because it doesn’t think people want to hear it. So, instead, all we’ve been hearing is talk about how this country will be thrown into “isolation” or will become a “pariah state” in the event of a No vote.

The former EU commissioner Peter Sutherland says if there is a No vote on Thursday, the EU will just go ahead with the Lisbon treaty anyway. He says: “I can’t believe that a way will not be found to proceed.”

Think about that. This is telling us that EU politicians care so little about democracy they would just ignore an Irish No vote and carry on regardless. And he thinks that’s an argument for instead voting Yes. It hardly makes the eurocrats sound like the sort of people we would want to give more power to.

Sutherland is not alone. The European parliament has voted against a motion to respect the result of the Irish referendum. One Irish MEP even voted against respecting the wishes of the public. How out of touch can you get?

The Yes campaign has also tried to change the question by making completely unrelated (and indeed impossible) promises in order to buy up votes. Brian Cowen has promised to veto any concessions being made in world trade talks in return for the support of the farmers.

There is an irony here. The Yes campaigners are maintaining that Ireland cannot possibly say no to Lisbon and deny politicians in other European countries what they want. On the other hand, Cowen says Ireland would be prepared to veto the world trade talks and deny the entire rest of the world something that they want. It’s a funny position to adopt, but it is unlikely to matter in the end. Despite the bravado, the Irish government has no ability to veto any trade deal under the Lisbon treaty.

So what about the real question? Should we give more power to the EU? Here are a couple of questions to think about before deciding how to vote.

Do you want to swap Irish voices in Brussels for more powerful EU officials? The Lisbon treaty means giving up Ireland’s right to appoint a European commissioner. For the big countries that isn’t such a problem, because nobody can afford to ignore France, Britain or Germany, and they always get told what’s going on anyway. But without a pair of Irish “eyes and ears” in the commission, Ireland could easily find itself cut out of the loop.

The big member states gain twice over, because the treaty would set up powerful new Brussels institutions such as an EU president and EU foreign minister. Both the French and British governments boast that these two positions were their idea and will strengthen their influence in Brussels.

Why should the mighty European president listen to a country with just 1% of the population? Why should the EU foreign minister deal with anyone but the main military powers? These high-powered jobs are a recipe for a European Union that is more remote than ever from ordinary people.

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