An opinion poll published by the National Youth Council of Ireland has shown that almost half of the eligible voters under the age of 25 may not vote in the European and local elections on June 11th.
Announcing the results of the survey in Cork yesterday, the council said that almost 500,000 young people in that age group were eligible to vote, but as many as 14 per cent were not even registered. In spite of the strong economy in the Republic at present, the poll found that the main priority for young voters in both elections was employment/unemployment. The poll also showed that, if given the chance, young people would be inclined to vote for a young candidate.
Another finding was that only 9 per cent of young voters believed the political system encouraged them to participate. Of those polled 52 per cent said they would vote, 31 per cent said they would not and 17 per cent were uncertain about what they would do on polling day. The survey found that 70 per cent of young voters were pro-European and believed that Europe had a positive influence on Ireland. Sixty-two per cent of the respondents felt that local government should become not only more effective but more accountable.
The National Youth Council of Ireland has now called on the candidates and political parties in the European and local elections to address the issues highlighted by young voters. According to the council, Fianna Fail with 15 per cent support is the most popular party in the local election race and enjoys 16 per cent of young people's support in the European elections.
Fine Gael is rated as having 7 per cent support in the local and 6 per cent support in the European elections. Labour holds 6 per cent in both, as does Sinn Fein. The Green Party was rated at 6 per cent in the local elections while 5 per cent of those polled said they would support it in the European elections. The Progressive Democrats fared less well, polling 2 per cent for the local and 3 per cent for the European elections. The poll showed that in the European elections young people had a wide range of concerns. These included: employment/unemployment; the drugs problem; Northern Ireland; education; human rights; equality and the environment. In the local elections employment/unemployment again topped the list of concerns, while the drugs problem was second.
The poll was carried out by the Dublin market research company, Covanberg Ltd. It questioned 545 voters at 28 locations throughout the State.