Polling booths 'busier than normal' in Mullingar

Voter turnout in Mullingar town's polling booths is running considerably ahead of normal, election staff at the five schools in use for voting are reporting.

By 12.30, voting across the town was running at about 13.3 per cent, and it was close to 20 per cent in some individual boxes.

At St Colman's NS, where there are six boxes, one box had already hit 17.5 per cent by 11.15 am, with the lowest turnout there being at 9 per cent.

At Presentation School, one box had a low turnout: 104 out of the 1500 on the register had voted by 11.30, giving a percentage of 19 per cent, while the third box there had an 11 per cent turnout at that stage.

CBS was a busy location, with seven different booths, two showing 17 per cent turnouts by noon; one showing 16 per cent; two with 15 per cent, one at 11 per cent and one at 10 per cent.

At Gaelscoil an Mhuilinn, the overall turnout was higih, running at 14.8 per cent by noon, ranging from 12 per cent to 18 per cent across the six boxes.

ETNS has just two boxes, and while it appeared quiet, it was just because there are fewer than 900 eligible to vote there. By around 12.30, there was a turnout of 10.9 per cent in one box and 13.7 per cent in the other.