Upcoming Events

National | Politics / Elections

no events match your query!

New Events

National

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

Anti-Empire

offsite link The Wholesome Photo of the Month Thu May 09, 2024 11:01 | Anti-Empire

offsite link In 3 War Years Russia Will Have Spent $3... Thu May 09, 2024 02:17 | Anti-Empire

offsite link UK Sending Missiles to Be Fired Into Rus... Tue May 07, 2024 14:17 | Marko Marjanović

offsite link US Gives Weapons to Taiwan for Free, The... Fri May 03, 2024 03:55 | Anti-Empire

offsite link Russia Has 17 Percent More Defense Jobs ... Tue Apr 30, 2024 11:56 | Marko Marjanović

Anti-Empire >>

The Saker
A bird's eye view of the vineyard

offsite link Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz
Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb

offsite link The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog.  We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below). 

offsite link What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are

offsite link Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
2023/02/27 19:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of

offsite link The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker
Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by

The Saker >>

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.

offsite link Julian Assange is finally free ! Tue Jun 25, 2024 21:11 | indy

offsite link Stand With Palestine: Workplace Day of Action on Naksa Day Thu May 30, 2024 21:55 | indy

offsite link It is Chemtrails Month and Time to Visit this Topic Thu May 30, 2024 00:01 | indy

offsite link Hamburg 14.05. "Rote" Flora Reoccupied By Internationalists Wed May 15, 2024 15:49 | Internationalist left

offsite link Eddie Hobbs Breaks the Silence Exposing the Hidden Agenda Behind the WHO Treaty Sat May 11, 2024 22:41 | indy

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Not a cent from gov to encourage youth voting

category national | politics / elections | press release author Wednesday March 24, 2004 13:49author by rayo - lp Report this post to the editors

Labour Party European Candidate for Dublin, Ivana Bacik, today condemned the Government for ignoring the low level of voting among young people.

Speaking to students in Alexandra College, Dublin, Ivana stated, "The Government is ploughing huge resources into a campaign to promote electronic voting. €4.5m has been allocated to fund a slick marketing campaign to promote the Government's pet project, despite the widespread and legitimate concern among voters about e-voting.

"In stark contrast, the Government isn't spending one cent to encourage young people to vote. This despite the fact that less and less young people are exercising the right to vote. CSO figures reveal that at the last general election in nearly 60% of young people aged 18-19 didn't vote. Likewise 47% of young people aged 20-24 didn't cast a ballot.

"The vast majority of young people are excluded from the electoral process because of problems with the getting their name on the electoral register. 40% of people aged 18-19 didn't vote because either they weren't registered or they weren't registered at a suitable address.

This is a basic problem that could be overcome with a concerted registration campaign specifically designed for young people. Yet the Government has failed to tackle this problem. It seems to be content that 40% of young voters are excluded from the process.

"As a lecturer I work closely with young people. I know they are interested in the future of their country and want to make their voice heard. They are being deliberately ignored by the Government. FF and the PDs are content to splurge €4.5m promoting their e-voting scheme, but won't invest one cent in encouraging young people to exercise their democratic right. It is a disgrace"

--------------------------------------------------------------

At the Launch of the Partys' Local government policy this week the Labour Party has proposed the voting age to be droped to 16 years.

author by Clive Sullish - Buck_Fush.orgpublication date Wed Mar 24, 2004 16:03author address author phone Report this post to the editors

That's how Emma Goldman, another would-be workers' leader of eastern European background, put it.

And standing at school gates pushing votes at the impressionable young is neither dignified nor socially desirable, Ivana.

author by Mark O 'Hehirpublication date Wed Mar 24, 2004 16:05author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Or at least until the voter has payed some PAYE - And you can only vote for people who've had real jobs - not like Ms. Bacik

author by Fergalpublication date Wed Mar 24, 2004 17:29author address author phone Report this post to the editors

What an informative thread. It illustrates that people on both sides of the political divide can spout glib nonsense

author by Fergalpublication date Wed Mar 24, 2004 17:32author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Though I realise that my position is somewhat weakened by my inability to correctly spell the word "reasoned"...

author by Conor - ucdSApublication date Wed Mar 24, 2004 18:21author address author phone Report this post to the editors

that people are attracted to power for the wrong reasons, and a sizeable percentage of those in power (be they ff, fg, labour) will be corrupted once elected.

therefore young people dont vote.

sorry for taking an anarchist perspective here-hope i havent offended many on the right wing of labour (inc)! people would vote if they thought it mattered - well in this central democracy, it doesnt.people see that, people arent stupid, therefore they dont vote.

the only tds the young identify with are parish pump specialties like jacky healy rae, and other such gobshites.

making "political education" or somesuch manditory for the junior cert (garrett fitzgearld) or spending money on enticing the youth out (ivana bacik)to vote is nothing short of , at mostpure cynical social manipulation, or at least pure stupidity.

author by Fergalpublication date Wed Mar 24, 2004 18:27author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Tell it to someone in North Korea. Or tell it to a black citizen of South Africa.

If complaining changed anything we wouldnt need to vote

author by pcpublication date Wed Mar 24, 2004 19:11author address author phone Report this post to the editors

these civics course or what ever

does anyone know much about them, goes off to look...

i bet they don't teach looking afterself

not a an anarchist idea just commonsense?

author by j.a.publication date Wed Mar 24, 2004 19:17author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Fergal - I wonder if the N.Koreans or South Africans crave democracy or equality. The two terms are not synonymous as we've had so called democracy in the west for years and we still have raging inequality.
I agree with those who say democracy is sham, but i've got to qualify this. Liberal democracy (i.e. democracy + capitalism + low regulation) is most certainly a sham - where the market and private concerns are allowed to dictate so much.
Democracy, i think can only be valid where there is near full participation within it, and those elected are held trul accountable to the electorate. Not what someone (can't rememberwho) has described as a sixty second democracy - where one is only empowered for that brief moment when one casts ones vote and is then left to a virtual dictatorship for the next 5 years!

author by pcpublication date Wed Mar 24, 2004 22:12author address author phone Report this post to the editors

the gov did intro civics studies in school

depedning onn what they teach a subject like has as good as chance of any on encourageing people to vote...

so ...

author by Conor - SA ucdpublication date Thu Mar 25, 2004 12:45author address author phone Report this post to the editors

nice to see fergals deep analysis here. lets have n.korea as the yardstick for democracy or freedom here?

twat

author by Fergalpublication date Thu Mar 25, 2004 13:05author address author phone Report this post to the editors

"lets have n.korea as the yardstick for democracy or freedom here?

twat"

Conor - Your first sentance doesn't even make grammatical sense, and your second is pretty rich from someone who sees fit to bemoan a lack of deep analysis.

Of course N. Korea isn't the best bencmark for democracy (obviously, it's probably the worst) I merely mention it to make the point that people have and continue to fight and die for democracy, so to call it a sham is in poor taste coming from someone who (I presume) has never had to live without it.

Oh and while I'm on the topic of N. Korea, I'd suggest that it's the most equal society in the world. I still wouldn't want to live there though.

author by Fergalpublication date Thu Mar 25, 2004 18:12author address author phone Report this post to the editors

You only know one 4-letter word? How about "cunt"? Try it, it'd suit you.

author by c - sapublication date Thu Mar 25, 2004 20:19author address author phone Report this post to the editors

cock

author by shockedpublication date Fri Mar 26, 2004 23:29author address author phone Report this post to the editors

God don't you know journalists are reading,
what effect will this have on our childrens' and parents' media next week?

Related Link: http://www.geometry.net/artists/buonarroti_michelangelo.php
author by Mike - Judean Popular Peoples Frontpublication date Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:46author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Id reduce the voting age to 16 but would deny a vote to people who cannot spell words like "paid".

author by Caelpublication date Sat Mar 15, 2008 19:19author address author phone Report this post to the editors

As the youth of Ireland are the main victims of the Landlord/Fianna Fail land and housing scam, its hardly surprising that nothing is done to encourage them to vote.

Number of comments per page
  
 
© 2001-2024 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy