EU referendum passes by comprehensive margin
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said this afternoon that Ireland's comprehensive Yes vote on the EU fiscal treaty has sent a powerful signal around the world that the country was serious about overcoming its economic challenges.
The ballot boxes were opened at 9am today at count centres in all 43 constituencies.
Final results show 60.3 per cent voted Yes, while 39.7 per cent voted No, when spoiled or invalid votes are excluded. Turnout was 50.6 per cent.
Electorate:3,144,828
Total poll: 1,591,385
Turnout:
50.6 per cent
Invalid Votes: 7,206
Valid poll: 1,584,173
Yes Vote: 955,091
No Vote: 629, 088
Majority: 326,003
See table below for full breakdown.
Just five of the 43 constituencies voted against the treaty. Full constituency-by-constituency results are available here.
Dublin Mid-West voted Yes by a margin of just five votes, while Dublin South-Central rejected it by 700.
Donegal South-West, Donegal North-West, Dublin South-West and Dublin North-West also voted No. The turnout in the two Donegal constituencies was just 42 per cent, the lowest in the country.
The highest turnout was in Dublin North-Central, Wicklow and Dublin North-East, at 58.76 per cent, 57.47 per cent and 57.17 per cent respectively.
The treaty was supported by voters in rural constituencies and middle class areas in urban centres, although the No vote was stronger in working class areas.
Addressing the media at Government Buildings this afternoon, Mr Kenny said the result would help bring stability and credibility and ensure Ireland has access to funding under the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) if needed.
“The Irish people have sent a powerful signal around the world that this is a country serious about overcoming our economic challenges,” he said. “The treaty will not solve all economic problems but it is a foundation stone to make sure the economy stands on firm ground.”
He said Ireland had sent a message that the issue of Ireland's bank debt had to be dealt with by the leaders of Europe.
While he said he would not go into technicalities, he confirmed he raised the "specific issue" of banking with German chancellor Angela Merkel and other EU leaders in a series of telephone calls. He said Mrs Merkel and the other leaders were "pleased" at the outcome of the fiscal treaty referendum in Ireland given what he described as the waves of anti-incumbent sentiment sweeping around the world.
Mr Kenny He denied the Government had frightened people into voting Yes by saying the State would be cut off from EU funding in the event of a No vote. "The fear came from the other side, where we heard of the billions of timebombs of austerity blowing up in the people's faces," he said.
He suggested "local issues" had impacted on the decision of people in five constituencies to vote No.
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore described the Yes vote as "a necessary step on Ireland's road to recovery".
The result would "strengthen our hand” and it now had to be built on. He said Ireland now needed a long-term deal on its banking debt that was workable.
Earlier, Fianná Fail leader Micheál Martin welcomed the result, noting that people were worried about the future. “Many people voted Yes, I'll be honest with you, they saw it as the lesser of two evils, he said. “Many people who voted No were concerned about voting No.”
