Voting numbers pick up across Cavan

Polling started at 7am and closes at 10pm.

After a slow start in the early hours of polling, voters have begun to turnout in numbers across Co Cavan.

In Cavan, a total of 36 candidates are seeking election across three Municipal Districts - Cavan-Belturbet, Ballyjamesduff, and Bailieborough-Cootehill.

This includes eight Fianna Fáil candidates, seven each for Fine Gael and Sinn Féin, three standing for Aontú, two for Independent Ireland, and one each for Labour, the Green Party, Irish Freedom, The Irish People, and five across various non-party or independent platforms.

The east of the county, Mullagh and Virginia (Ballyjamesduff MD), both considered commuter areas, appeared the busiest of the stations throughout the county starting out, but others have now caught up, with Ballyjamesduff (St Clare's NS) standing at seven per cent now overall: Booth 1- 1.2%; Booth 2- 1.95%; Booth 3- 1.3% Booth 4- 1.6%; and Booth 5- 1.05%.

In Mullahoran turnout is about 10 per cent, and in Bruskey, also in the Ballyjamesduff area, as of 11am, voting percentage it a little over four per cent.

In Stradone (Bailieborough-Cootehill), polling numbers sit around six per cent total, and the came in Cavan Town (Cavan-Belturbet MD), where there are 10 booths at St Clare's NS, as of 10:30am, turnout was at around six per cent.

The local election count takes place, as before, at the Cavan Leisure Complex in Cavan Town, where votes from 136 boxes across 65 count centres will be sorted from the European ballots first before being officially counted tomorrow (Saturday).

That sorting process will begin early Saturday, June 8. European votes will be separated from the local ballots. The European votes will be formally handed over to Returning Officer, Joseph Smith, before being brought to the primary European constituency count centre in Castlebar. Counting there will not begin until Sunday morning once all ballots have been delivered.

The Local Election count will then begin on Saturday afternoon and is expected to conclude, providing there are no calls for recounts, some time late on Sunday evening, June 9. The count result for the Midlands–North-West cannot be announced until voting concludes in countries across Europe.

Acting Director of Services for Corporate Services, Lynda McGavigan, is the Returning Officer for the local election results.