Electronic voting in the Republic of Ireland the Government of Ireland established the Independent Commission on Electronic Voting and Counting at Elections to examine the proposed system. It was dissolved in 2006. The Commission issued a series of reports reviewing the proposed system and comparing it to the existing electoral system: "The Commission can recommend the voting and counting equipment as follows: The prime issue was the lack of verifiability by the absence of an audit mechanism or verified paper trail. The former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had defended the flawed system in the Dáil, bemoaning the use of ""stupid old pencils"". The voting machines bought by the
Euroscepticism in the Republic of Ireland does not advocate withdrawal from the Union. Ireland pursued an isolationist policy from the 1920s to the 1950s, and in the mid-1950s, then opposition leader and former Taoiseach Éamon de Valera stated an opposition to the formation of a European parliament and European federalism, noting that Ireland ""did not strive to get out of that British domination [...] to get into a worse [position]"". Membership of the EEC was however sought by successive Irish governments, and Ireland acceded to the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973. This followed a referendum with a near record turnout of 71% (the highest turnout