Less than half county's voters go to polls as county says 'Yes'

Meath voters accepted the Fiscal Stability Treaty by a 59.7 per cent majority in Thursday's referendum, which saw just 48.3 per cent of the county's voters turning out to vote. Government and Fianna Fail representatives were in jubilant form as it became clear early on Friday that the county and the country had voted in favour of tighter fiscal union in Europe. In Meath West, where the turnout was 47.6 per cent, voters approved the treaty by 56.6 per cent to 43.4 per cent, while in Meath East it was approved by a considerably higher 62.6 per cent to 37.4 per cent. The turnout in Meath East was 49 per cent. The figures do not include the small portion of east Meath which is now in the Louth constituency, which voted by 52.7 per cent to 47.3 per cent in favour of the referendum. The overall Meath result was marginally behind the national figure of 60.3 per cent in favour. The result in the county was not as conclusive as in the last referendum on Europe, the second Lisbon Treaty vote in 2009, where 65 per cent of Meath West voters approved the treaty. In Meath East in 2009, 72 per cent of those who voted were in favour of the treaty. At the Meath West count in The Trim GAA Centre on Friday, Deputy Ray Butler said Fine Gael was very happy with the result. He said voters had realised that the treaty would stabilise the country. "There is a lot of frustration out there. People want to keep the roofs over their heads and their businesses going, and this will stabilise things. "It will put in a system where we cannot be spending what we haven't got and we will have the reassurance of emergency ESM funding if we need it," he said. He said the 'Yes' vote sent out the right message to Europe. The Labour Party director of elections for Meath West, Brian Flanagan, also welcomed the majority vote in favour of the referendum. He was especially critical of what he called "Sinn Féin fairytale economics". He remarked: "Sinn Féin and others seem to think that a fairy godmother will descend, wave a magic wand and provide us with the money that we may need at some stage to pay pensioners and to keep our schools and our hospitals open. This is nonsense," he said. "Furthermore, Sinn Féin wrongly claimed during the campaign that a 'No' vote would end austerity. They were wrong on that one. Indeed, rejection of the treaty would lead to even more austerity and not less," he added. Cllr Joe Reilly said that Sinn Fein was obviously disappointed that it didn't persuade sufficient numbers to vote 'No' but was happy with the campaign the party ran. "We distributed over 50,000 pieces of literature, canvassed thousands of doors and engaged with the electorate throughout Meath West. We are clearly the voice of opposition and an alternative to the failed policies of this government. "I am also delighted that Navan, the main county town, has appeared to have narrowly voted 'No'. This is a testament to the hard work of Sinn Fein activists on the ground. This level of supports bodes well for the party's future." Minister of State, Shane McEntee, welcomed the result at the Meath East count in The Ashbourne-Donaghmore GAA Centre on Friday, pointing out that it had been a strong vote in favour of the referendum and for the government to continue with its policies.