Madam, – I sympathise with the six non-Irish EU citizens who were denied a vote in the European election (June 10th). Like your correspondents I too am an EU citizen living here for many years. However, I was aware of the new regulation which requires you to submit a declaration that you will not be voting simultaneously in your home country. I had the necessary forms completed and stamped in my local Garda station and sent to the Register of Electors well before the required date.
My treatment at the polling centre was very similar to that of my fellow EU citizens: profuse apologies from the staff but my name was followed by an L for “local only” on their list and I was consequently restricted to a vote in the local elections.
Although furious at the time, I assumed it was isolated incident. My paranoia does not extend so far as to suspect a systematic disenfranchisement campaign; however, it would be comforting to know if there is an EU citizen out there, not from the southern part of this island, who was actually granted the vote to which they are entitled. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – John Gibbons’s article (“Punishing Greens puts climate crisis on back burner”, Opinion, June 11th) misses the point about why the Greens are being punished by the electorate.
The Greens are propping up an unpopular Government against the will of the people. They betrayed their supporters and quite rightly, people are now cynical about them. Green parties have made huge gains in the European elections, but in Ireland the Green movement has been discredited by the actions of its leadership.
If the Greens had any integrity they would quit the Government now and take the electoral pain that will come sooner or later anyway. The Greens have lost the trust of their supporters and it will take a long time to rebuild it – maybe they will only achieve this with a change of leadership.
The Greens don’t have a monopoly on environment issues and all parties should be addressing the need to tackle climate change. But if the Greens can’t deliver on their core policies, what is the point in voting for them? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I was in the RDS during the election count and I witnessed first hand that one vote can make a difference. Votes were being counted for a local election area in Dublin and two candidates from the same party were running neck and neck from the outset. Throughout the count they were scarcely 10 votes apart and towards the end it became apparent that only one of them would be elected, on the last seat. Every transfer was going to make a difference and in the end one of them had two votes less than the other and was duly eliminated. His transfers brought his party colleague over the line and into the council.
The gap of two votes means that if one voter had placed him as a higher preference than the other candidate, then it would have been a tie. One more vote and he would have taken the seat in place of his colleague.
The eliminated candidate called for a recount, but the gap of two votes was still there after all the votes were checked and counted again.
In every locality there must be similar stories. However, in most circumstances a single vote is unlikely to make a big difference to the outcome. Rather than this being a problem, I suggest it is entirely the point. Voting is one of the most important examples of collective action: we vote together, as families, communities, co-workers and other groups of shared interest. Elections are all about voting collectively, not as individuals, and choosing candidates who best serve our collective interests.
Next time, I hope more people vote – for whatever reason. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I was a candidate in the local elections. When I received my nomination papers I was informed by the accompanying notes that certain criteria had to be met before I could go forward. One was that a person convicted of fraud or crime against the council may not go forward.
How then did Michael “Stroke” Fahy (“Councillor convicted of fraud tops poll”, June 8th) succeed in contesting a seat in Galway County Council (in the Loughrea electoral area) and indeed top the poll? (Mr Fahy is now appealing the conviction). – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Despite the drop in Brian Cowen’s party, I would still vote Fianna Fáil as I cannot see anyone else capable of getting the country out of the state it is in. There is also the spectre of pedantic Enda Kenny running affairs. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The people have given a resounding No vote to the Government parties in the elections. However, it is not a cause for concern. The elections can simply be re-run, to allow the people give the “right” answer next time! This autumn, perhaps? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I note that Minister for Environment John Gormley spoke of “listening carefully” to the membership (of the Green Party).
Perhaps if he listened instead to the people of this nation who clearly are not supportive of the green agenda the Green Party might gain more credibility next time. – Yours, etc,
