Reuters: Financial Services and Real Estate: Dublin bus route reflects divided views on referendum

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Dublin bus route reflects divided views on referendum May 31st 2012, 19:45 By Stephen Mangan DUBLIN | Thu May 31, 2012 3:45pm EDT DUBLIN May 31 (Reuters) - Typically just a boring commute, a journey aboard bus No. 65 across Dublin on voting day reflects the Irish citizens' sharply divided views on a referendum on Europe's new fiscal treaty. The hour-long journey sets off at working-class Tallaght, at the foothill of the Dublin Mountains, and takes a route past middle-class tennis clubs and exclusive private schools before reaching its final stop in the city centre. On Thursday, as the Irish people cast ballots in the only popular vote on the treaty, passengers from socially diverse backgrounds had their say, offering a glimpse of the nation's class politics. Counting begins at 0800 GMT on Friday, and opinion polls point to a "yes" vote. Some polling stations in Tallaght, which has a traditionally low turnout, were slow by mid-morning, in comparison to those in neighbouring areas that were visibly awash with parishioners voting after early mass. However bad the country's prospects, many passengers in Tallaght want Ireland to cut itself loose from Europe, revert back to the old 'punt' currency and dig in through the aftermath of economic and social catastrophe. "I'm not bothering to vote because it won't make a difference," said Tracey Doyle, a 44-year old mother of two whose husband, a carpenter, has been out of work for almost two years. "I've never missed an opportunity to vote but I'm fed up saying 'no' to something that is just thrown back at us to vote on again. One of my kids has gone to Australia and my other son is looking to emigrate soon. It can't get much worse," she said. Tallaght, one of Ireland's largest population centres, is blighted by unemployment - an estimated 12,000 people are without work in an area home to about 71,000. The opposition Sinn Fein party, which led the 'no' campaign, has a growing popularity in the area. "I'm a 52-year-old plasterer that hasn't worked in nearly a year," said Liam O'Hara, who was travelling into the city centre. "I've worked since I was 16 and now I can't get a sniff of work because there's nobody building anymore. I've voted no," he said. In comparison, most passengers taking the bus in the neighbouring middle-class areas less than 10 minutes up the route on Dublin's south side greatly favour the 'yes' camp. "I voted 'yes' to the treaty because I think it's important to establish fiscal discipline throughout Europe to make this thing work," said Michael McCullough, a retired civil servant. Streets were lined by government-backed 'yes' posters high on lampposts as the bus edged closer towards the city centre, with just a spotting of Sinn Fein and opposition placards on show. "There is a change in mood in the country in the last few months," said Anita Walsh, a care worker with the Irish health service. "People are starting to believe that we are getting things on track. It's important to vote 'yes' because it shows that Irish people aren't afraid to fight to make things right again and we don't run away when it gets tough." Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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