HOUSING, transport and climate change are issues that are uniting voters young and old, proving age is just a number.
A recent opinion poll indicated that house prices and the cost of rent were key issues for people under the age of 35, while the health service and crime were more important to voters over the age of 55.
Housing, transport and climate are issues among voters in the general election[/caption]
These polls are useful in providing us with a limited snapshot of how some voters feel at a certain point in time.
Will housing be the issue that shrines through for first-time voters and what do parties need to do to secure the so-called ‘grey vote?’
We spoke to some first-time teenage voters about what will win their support on the election vote on November 29 with the war in Gaza, phone addiction and false information among the topics raised.
While two older voters flagged problems with the health service, more trees and transports – with one former nurse telling us: “I can’t cycle to mass!”
Here, Emma Mooney speaks to some first-time voters and those with a lot more experience at the ballot box about the issues that will get their support in the general election.
‘IT’S NOT NICE TO GO INTO THE CITY’
A BIG issue I would like to see fixed, it’s the health service, what happened to the health service?
“When I started training as a nurse, I never saw a patient on a trolley, even for years after I finished training, up to the 80s.
“They’ll never bring back the past, but when you started nursing, you went into the nurse’s home, and the nurses today, struggle to find accommodation.
“It was a bad thing doing away with nurse’s homes, they had a big nurse’s home in Vincent’s, but down they came.
“The current government are turning a blind eye to the children’s hospital, it started years ago and we’re still wondering will it be finished.
“If the next government could be more organised with the HSE, because the population is going up, you either need extensions or new buildings.
“But then it’s a problem of staff. In the last year we had deaths, people waiting on trolleys for 12 to 14 hours.
“And I think nowadays, young people have no respect for the Guards, we saw that with the riots in the inner city.
“I don’t think it’s nice to go into the city these days at night or even during the day.
“I see the need for climate actions, but we’re not like Amsterdam, we don’t have the wide streets to block off cycle lanes. I can’t cycle to Mass.”
‘WE NEED MORE GARDAI IN TOWNS’
AS A new voter, I would like to see more HSE and mental health funding, especially with teenagers and young adults, as public mental health services have long waiting lists and not everyone can afford private therapy.
“I would like a government who supports Palestine and will call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, more funding for student accommodation and an increase in the houses being built, as I am a leaving cert student who wants to move away from home and go to college.
“I would like a government that cares about my education and helps fund the building of my new rural school.
“We also need more primary and secondary school teachers available as I have noticed the lack of sufficient substitute teachers.
“The next government should invest in more public transport infrastructure to reduce travel emissions, noise pollution, and build-up in inner cities.
“It is important to have leaders that understand the ticking time bomb that is climate change.
“I believe the next government needs to increase the Gardaí as crimes have risen by 18 per cent in the past year.
“I would like to see an LGBTQ+ friendly government, who listens to the youth and follows through on their promises to change Ireland.”
‘I WANT A PARTY WITH A PLAN’
AS a younger person, I would be looking for many different things in our future government.
“I would like to see a government that gets things done.
“My main concerns would be the economy and government spending.
“I would be looking for a government that can assure my future is safe, by fixing the housing crisis, increasing the number of jobs available for graduates, and reducing the overall cost of living.
“I would like to see the money I pay in taxes not wasted on meaningless plans.
“Wasteful spending is all too frequent and having seen acts like the phone pouches be instated by this current government, I have chosen to focus on these types of issues when voting.
“I would like to see an innovative government that thinks of abstract ways to counter social problems such as phone addiction, false information, and racism.
“Reduction of crime throughout the country is vital as a peaceful Ireland seems long lost.
“A government that promotes the jobs of civil servants and protects their needs to increase the number of them working here.
“I will vote for a party with not just an idea for the future, but a plan.
“A government that is strong, courageous, and decisive is what I’m looking for.”
‘THE YOUNG NEED GOOD EDUCATION’
I THINK transport is a big issue – the one thing, for a major country that can hold our heads with the best of them, is a metro from the airport, and that is badly needed.
“I think the environment, more trees, I want to see action, I don’t want empty promises.
“I think we should be asking what the government do about climate change. I have a little granddaughter who collects cans and bottles and gets four or five euros, it’s starting at a young age.
“I’m in favour of cleaner air through trees. For me, I see who is working well in my district, I’m not so much concerned with parties, whether Labour or Fine Gael, or Fianna Fáil, if I see someone working well and making things happen.
“I do think that bringing in more apprenticeships for our young people is a great idea, so that everyone doesn’t have to go to college.
“We love our young people, we want to see them achieving their goals, and getting a good education. And I think more public housing being built, which there wasn’t over the last ten years.
“We’re an agricultural country, we should be promoting our agriculture, where are we getting our vegetables?
“Why are we bringing in so much from abroad?
“We have to create our own industries.”
A recent opinion poll indicated that house prices and the cost of rent were key issues for people under the age of 35[/caption]
