Low turnout at polling stations.

There's a theory - and I'm simply reporting it, not expressing any opinion on its validity - that midweek voting tends to favour the status quo as younger people - students, Mon-Fri renters, the "home to mammy with the laundry brigade", etc. (i.e. the cohort who are less likely to vote along lifelong party lines) aren't at their home place, where they're likely still registered to vote.

I think people who are well capable of voting and do not even bother are a disgrace and should be ashamed of themselves. People died so we could have the freedom to vote and there is millions possibly even billions of people in the World who would love to be able to vote or can like in Russia but know its fixed and very little they can do about it.

So yes I think it's very important that we vote. I think it should be Compulsory. Both my brothers and both my sisters did not and I was very annoyed with them over that. One runs a business but he is the most arrogant, ignorant person and I do not see that business lasting 10 years.

Both my parents voted as they know the importance of voting.

How exactly is it rigged? While we have two parties that are the largest, we also tend to be more likely to have coalition government so smaller parties can end up incredibly influential. The existing parties in many respects have attitudes that have changed as public opinion has shifted, socially in particular. The public choose to reelect them but that's entirely as a result of the way people have chosen to vote. On top of that we're one of the few countries that ever get the opportunity to directly vote on constitutional changes. So yep, we're a democracy and it's an insult to those who live under authoritarian regimes when you start claiming that our political system isn't that different to North Korea's…

News I watch covers the EU, it also covers news stories from other regions.

None of which suggests nobody in Ireland cares about EU which is what you claimed

Does spoiling your vote really achieve anything?

I never remember seeing any serious discussions about the number of spoiled votes in any election.

Seems to me, that a low turnout gets more attention than the number of spoiled votes.

If someone is making a big deal about telling me that they've spoiled their vote, I'd consider them an attention seeker

I never said anything about Irish wanting to leave the EU. You didn't read my original comment properly.

Less than 50% is hard to understand.

The vast majority of my friends, family, work colleagues vote. Housebound elderly relatives were helped by family to get to the polling station.

I'm wondering who these people who dont vote are? Are there entire demographics or neighbourhoods where nobody votes?

I don't agree. Hardly ever any media coverage of the EU. Low turnout. Weak and crackpot candidates.

I don't detect huge interest in the EU here. We support membership but seemingly prefer to get motivated about Trump.

I don't know for sure, but I'd say most voters nowadays are 'floating' in some sense and particularly for something like the locals, if a councillor (or candidate) helps a voter in some way, then on average some percentage of voters will return that with a vote in the next election. Not saying all politicians think that way, but some probably do.

I'm pretty sure that would be getting national attention and a lot more would be complaining if that had actually happened tbh. Given it's somebody from work, you should be well able to ask which one btw which would be a lot more verifiable...