Wet weather dampens turnout for treaty poll

Wet weather in many parts of the country helped dampen turnout for the fiscal treaty poll.

After a fractious campaign which saw both sides regularly accuse the other of lying, voters appeared turned-off by the negative tone of the hustings.

President Michael D Higgins cast his first vote as head of State, along with his wife Sabina, at St Mary’s Hospital in the Phoenix Park.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny remained upbeat that the yes side would be victorious as he performed his civic duty at St Patrick’s National School in Castlebar, Co Mayo, alongside his wife Fionnuala.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore voted in Shankill, south Dublin, but would not be drawn on his prediction for how the result would split.

Leading no campaigner and Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams voted in his Louth Dáil constituency.

Sinn Féin expressed anger that a hoax pipe-bomb had been left outside one of its party offices in Dublin before voting got under way.

The yes side had hoped the turnout would at least equal the 59% who voted in the Lisbon 1 poll of June 2008.

The no side was aware that relatively low voter participation in that poll and the previous Nice 1 contest had helped them to victory in both battles.

While the result will be closely watched across Europe, unlike with the Lisbon Treaty, ratification in other states does not depend on a yes vote here as the fiscal treaty comes into force when 12 of the 17 eurozone countries agree that it should proceed.

Meanwhile, an independent Cork City councillor has claimed households in his constituency received polling cards incorrectly dated 2010.

Cllr Mick Finn said he had been contacted by a man who had received 10 polling cards through the post even though there were only three people living there.

“Five of them were dated Thursday, May 31, 2010. Another received none at all, while a third received all 2010 cards,” Mr Finn said,

He said the man had gone to his ballot station in Bunscoil Chríost Rí on the Evergreen Rd in Cork City but when he tried to vote the count staff pointed out the date on the card. He went home and got a correctly dated polling card.

Mr Finn said the Referendum Commission and those who issued cards have a lot to answer for.

“Apart from compromising the decision — who knows how many yes and no votes could be doubled up — it also reflects scandalously on the State nationally of our registers and voting systems.”