Saturday voting may need to be reconsidered following lower than expected turnouts in the poll, Taoiseach Enda Kenny and a number of Ministers have indicated.

More than 3.1 million people were eligible to vote, but the campaign failed to capture the public imagination, with a turnout of 33.5 per cent.

Nonetheless, the children’s rights amendment to the Constitution has been passed with 57.4 per cent of people voting Yes and 42.6 per cent voting No.

Saturday voting has only been tried once before in a referendum. The first time it was used was in the second vote on the Nice treaty in 2002.

Enda Kenny said the Government would now examine whether there should be changes to future referendums and whether they should go back to holding them on weekdays.

“I can’t force people to vote,” he said in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, where he yesterday attended a Remembrance Day ceremony. The Government would now consider issues such as whether to hold referendums on weekdays or weekends, whether to leave polling stations open longer and whether people could vote at a younger age.

Polling took place between 9am and 10pm on Saturday last, a reduction in the traditional number of hours which in itself generated savings of over €600,000.

Saturday voting also meant school closures were avoided.