The candidates speak little of Europe, although they complain that this is because the press doesn't ask them about it. Their slogans range from the banal to the vacuous. Yet they almost all come from political parties with published European manifestos. These parties belong in turn to European Parliament groups with very specific positions on the key European issues.
The Fianna Fáil manifesto concentrates heavily on economics, while Fine Gael devotes more to its vision of Europe, developing the EU and giving Ireland a greater role in controversial areas such as defence.
Labour emphasises the EU as a means for social protection and advancement, and the Greens concentrate on similar themes while emphasising environmental protection and opposing EU militarisation. Sinn Féin's manifesto has a distinctly anti-federalist tone, while emphasising social policy above economic aims.
The great economic debate in Europe concerns striking the correct balance between the need to increase business efficiency and the desire to maintain public services and social protection. The manifestos give some clarity as to where they stand on what has been dubbed the Boston (low taxes and low social provision) versus Berlin (the reverse) debate.
The key to this is their attitude to the so-called "Lisbon Strategy", a somewhat vague amalgam of measures designed to allow the EU fulfil its aim of becoming the most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy by 2010.
These include spending on research and development, financial services, liberalisation of energy markets, improving telecoms, environmental protection and regulatory reform.
Parties typically emphasise either the economic aims or the social aims of this strategy, depending on what side of the ideological divide they come from. The Government, and the Progressive Democrats in particular, emphasise the pro-business aspects of the Lisbon Strategy; Europe's Socialist and Green politicians its social and environmental protection aims.
The Fianna Fáil manifesto does both: "Fianna Fáil is convinced that we cannot isolate the need for social inclusion from any growth agenda, nor can we ignore the environment in which people live". The party says it supports the inclusion of social objectives in the economically driven Lisbon Strategy.
Private initiative, free enterprise, competition and free trade "are driving forces behind economic progress", the Fine Gael manifesto says. They also, however, emphasise solidarity with the less well off and social and environmental protection.
Labour talks of putting the concerns of people first, presumably ahead of the concerns of business. It talks of putting measures to combat poverty and social exclusion into every EU policy, setting targets for poverty reduction.
While the draft EU constitution includes a measure that could force member-states to introduce private provision of public services, Labour proposes a European law to protect public services.
"We reject the attempts of right-wing governments to limit the Lisbon process to economic reforms by neglecting its social objectives," the manifesto declares. It is the only party to point out that the Lisbon strategy has social objectives such as reaching a 70 per cent overall employment rate and 60 per cent interim rate for women's participation in the workforce by 2010.
"Issues such as social justice and environmental protection go hand in hand and must not take second place to the single pursuit of competitiveness", says the Green Party manifesto. It also emphasises the protection of public services, while Sinn Féin wants the imperative to privatise these to be removed from the Lisbon Agenda.
Sinn Féin says that, while the Lisbon Agenda has some "progressive elements", it has over time become narrowly focused on competitiveness, deregulation and privatisation rather than the improvement of society.
On the proposed EU constitutional treaty, the parties are clear, and clearly differ. The Fianna Fáil manifesto makes it clear that the proposed constitutional treaty is theirs. The party in Government was continuing to seek agreement on it, and its MEPs would support its finalisation.
Fine Gael states unequivocal support for the proposed treaty. Labour favours it "in principle". The Green Party does not say, but says it is concerned about the drift towards "militarisation" of the EU. Sinn Féin says it is against it.
The Fianna Fáil manifesto notes that the powers and functions of the Parliament have been increased, details some of these powers, but gives no hint as to whether the party thinks this is a good thing, or whether it thinks the Parliament should be further strengthened. Fine Gael, Labour and the Green Party say they want the Parliament further strengthened.
During the campaign Fianna Fáil has been using the Green Party to define itself against. The European Greens' manifesto supports moving towards a minimum rate of corporation tax, something party candidates have been suggesting would lay waste to the economy.
The Greens also support diverting agricultural spending from direct payments to farmers to rural development funding, something Fianna Fáil has been claiming will lay waste to agriculture. The Green Party has stuck by its positions, rejecting the Fianna Fáil characterisations.
International defence and security has always been a hot European issue in Ireland, and again the parties have differences of emphasis. Fianna Fáil's manifesto contains a mixture of bland commitment and vagueness.
They will work "positively within the framework of a common foreign and security policy, and in accordance with our constitutional duties". They want more EU-UN co-operation in crisis management, and the development of the EU's early-warning and rapid-response capabilities.
Even less surprisingly, they want to improve the transatlantic relationship and encourage the EU to play a greater role in Africa.
Fine Gael is the most enthusiastic about developing the EU's military capability and giving Ireland a role in it. There is nothing inherently moral in adopting a neutral stance on every conflict, it says. The first duty of Government is to provide security for the people, and FG wants a European security and defence agreement.
They support a European mutual defence commitment with an opt-out clause. They also envisage Irish participation in peacekeeping without UN sanction, something none of the other parties will contemplate.
And while some candidates are not exactly on top of all the European issues, the same cannot be said for Fine Gael's Gay Mitchell in Dublin, who has been the driving force behind the evolution of the party's security and defence policy.
Labour's Peter Cassells has issued several statements criticising Fine Gael's move from the traditional neutrality position. Labour wants the UN to remain the only authority allowed to mandate peacekeeping missions.
The Green Party expresses concern at what it sees as the militarisation of the EU, with Dublin candidate Ms Patricia McKenna to the fore on this issue for a decade.
The party points out that there has been the development of a Rapid Reaction Force, EU military command structures and an armaments agency, while the proposed EU constitution continues this trend, moving the Union closer to a military alliance, complete with "solidarity" and mutual defence clauses.
Sinn Féin believes Ireland's foreign policy has been "corroded" by EU membership and wants the EU constitutional treaty to recognise explicitly Ireland's neutrality.
Outside the main political parties are independents from Mr Joe Higgins in Dublin with his anti-capitalist message to Ms Kathy Sinnott's disability rights platform and Ms Dana Rosemary Scallon's conservative Christian politics.