IMMIGRANT VOTERS: Candidates are aiding integration by making serious efforts to get out the immigrant vote, writes John Downes.
Walk into some of the hotels, shops or pubs in Roscommon town and one thing immediately becomes apparent: you are as likely to hear a foreign accent from the person behind the counter as an Irish one.
By some estimates, there are as many as 500 foreign nationals living in Roscommon town, representing more than 10 per cent of the population.
Of these, the vast majority are Brazilian.
They work in a variety of jobs, from hotels and shops to mushroom farms and meat plants such as the Keypaq factory in Athleague, and Hannons Poultry, based in Roscommon town.
Add to this Russians, Estonians, Poles, Lithuanians and Filipinos, and it explains why some 450 are foreign nationals.
There are about 45,500 Irish citizens registered to vote in the council area, according to Roscommon County Council.
However, the number could rise significantly once the results of the approximately 1,000 supplementary applications are made known later this week.
Of these, a significant proportion are expected to be foreign nationals, at least in part because of efforts by candidates in the area to encourage them to vote.
The Fine Gael mayor of Roscommon County Council, Mr John Connor, estimates the level of registration among foreign nationals to be as high as 70 to 80 per cent.
As a Fine Gael mayor, he says he can only speak for Fine Gael candidates.
However, they are making "every possible effort" to canvass votes from foreign nationals, he says.
"You're talking about hundreds of votes. A lot of candidates would make them aware of their right to vote. Of course, they hope they will vote for them, but the idea is that it will help their integration. Once they have voted and participated, they have the right to complain if they are not happy."
Mr Connor added: "Most don't have very good English, but they seem happy with the level of employment. Housing, exploitation and levels of pay, that's what worries them."
Ms Celeina Fernandes Da Silva Ramos, a Brazilian working in Roscommon town for the past four years - her husband also works there - says she and her friends have had one candidate in particular call to her door encouraging them to register to vote.
They were informed that if they registered, the candidate would "look after" Brazilians.
"I thought they want to get my vote, but if what they are saying is true, that's good," she said.
"If a candidate says to me he or she is going to look after Brazilians and others from outside Ireland, that will influence me to vote for them. But I wouldn't always know if what they are saying is true."
The key issue in the local elections for her and her friends, most of whom have registered to vote, is jobs. When Brazilians are looking for work, they can't get a work permit easily, she says.
If candidates could change that, she said, then they would win votes from Brazilians and other foreign nationals living in the area.
Mr Connor also points out that the Roscommon electoral area is one of the most difficult to predict. As a result, he believes "every last vote" will count in deciding the outcome .
These are sentiments echoed by Ms Fernandes Da Silva Ramos, sending a word of warning to local candidates and parties as election day draws near.
"I think the Brazilian vote is going to be important here," she says. "If they get a vote from us, it will make a difference."