As the Fine Gael/Labour government continues to attract as much affection as a blocked up septic tank, they are now considering innovative measures to help boost their popularity.

A referendum is set to be announced on the future of Valentine’s Day and whether it can be promoted in money-grabbing shops/restaurants.

If the nation votes against Valentine’s Day then all advertisements promoting the day and the products associated with it will be banned with immediate effect.

Enda Kenny and his goons hope to tap into the unromantic “couldn’t be bothered” psyche of the Irish male and the extreme paranoia of the Irish female where a dateless valentine’s day may as well mean the apocalypse.

An unnamed government source that we will call 'Cupid' said: “Every man in this country dreads the day, I tend to break out in sweats even thinking about it, what do you buy like??? And if she says she likes the present then you know there’s a strong chance she’s lying!”

'Cupid' went on to say that it was just a “sexist” day for women in relationships to get spoiled even after Christmas and a potential birthday in between costing the man a fortune. He also said that the referendum was "in no way a distraction or test run for one on the euro".

Single women are also set to come out in their droves to vote against Valentine’s Day if the amount of people that liked the Facebook page named “Spending Valentine’s day, naked, on the floor with a bottle of Pinot Grigio in your hand, screaming Adele songs to your cats” is anything to go by as it draws closer to a million likes.

The male dominated cabinet are also set to put a second measure into the referendum on whether to make “Steak and BJ Day” traditionally on the 14th of March a national holiday and to sanction free steaks and mouthwash being sent to every house in the country.

Many men in government feel that they have been ignored for far too long and that they are sick of lusting over Nicolas Sarkozy and the “European project” lead by Lothario Enda Kenny and that if Valentine’s Day is eradicated it should be replaced by Steak and B.J day which will certainly “go down” well with the male population.

Campaigns for and against both motions in the referendum are due to take shape in the next week with single women, unromantic and steak loving men, and “the girlfriend’s alliance” set to clash over the proposals.