THE RESULT of the Lisbon Treaty referendum will be declared this afternoon amid considerable concern in other European Union countries about the impact of the decision by Irish voters.
By the time polls closed at 10pm last night, around 50 per cent of the three million people registered to vote are understood to have cast their ballots.
Last night, the Yes camp expressed confidence that it would win, although those on the No side insisted that the result would be close.
Just before midnight, sources from the major parties said there appears to have been higher-than-expected turnout in key areas. In Dublin north-east 54 per cent of eligible citizens had voted, sources said. Other early turnout figures were: Waterford city 60 per cent, Dun Laoghaire 61 per cent, Co Clare 48 per cent, West Limerick 40 and Gorey and Greystones 55 per cent.
Polling stations in middle-class districts are known to have enjoyed high turnouts with one in Celbridge, Co Kildare, registering 50 per cent by 7pm, and parts of Co Wicklow reporting tournouts of 55 per cent by 9.30 pm
The French and German governments are expected to issue a joint statement later today once the Irish verdict is known. The outcome will be discussed by EU foreign ministers, including Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, when they meet in Luxembourg on Monday.
Counting will begin at 9am today, although early tallies should give a clear indication of the likely final result by lunchtime - unless the gap between the two sides is very tight.
Results from each of the 43 constituencies will be notified as they are completed to the Dublin Castle referendum count headquarters and a final result should be complete between 3.30pm and 5pm.
If there is a difference between the Yes and No sides of fewer than 10,000 votes, there will be a total recount in all constituencies and a result declared by 9pm, the Department of the Environment has said.
Expressing confidence in a Yes outcome, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said as he cast his vote in Tullamore with his wife, Mary: "I've led it in the very best way I possibly could. I've done it from the front. I've gone all over the country. I've put the issues."
Insisting he had run "an honest campaign", he added: "I can safely say I don't think that was replicated on the other side, given the level of misrepresentation and worries that people were articulating to me."
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who voted in Castlebar, Co Mayo, said he believed that public opinion had changed in the last 10 days of the campaign.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore, who voted in Shankill, Co Dublin, said questions about the conduct of the Yes campaign should be left "for tomorrow or for the postmortem".
Sinn Féin MEP Mary Lou McDonald said as she cast her vote that she believed today's count would be "very tight", adding that a No result would place "a huge responsibility" on the Government.
The founder of Libertas Declan Ganley, who campaigned for a No vote, voted with his wife Delia at Brierfield National School near Horseleap Cross in north Co Galway, near his home. Expressing a confidence that a No vote would send "a clear message to Brussels", he said: "Whatever the outcome, this is the voice of the Irish people speaking and it's a good day for democracy here in Ireland".
One of the country's leading bookmakers, Paddy Power, decided within minutes of the polls closing to pay out early to those who had bet that the Yes campaign would win.
