Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Committee on Disability Matters
Progressing the Delivery of Disability Policy and Services: Discussion (Resumed)
2:00 am
Mr. Art O'Leary:
Yes, it is huge. It is a significant number of people. When you think about what it takes to change turnout by simply a couple of percent, there are huge gaps here. There are the people who cannot vote and the people who do not vote because they think politics has nothing to do with them. There is a huge education opportunity there for us to try to make a difference. The Senator spoke about calling to people's houses. If it means that every member of An Coimisiún Toghcháin's staff has to spend the coming five years knocking on doors and visiting every sitting room in the country to persuade people to vote, we will not rule it out if that is what it is going to take. We will find ways to collaborate with groups and organisations to help them. Going back to the point I made earlier of nothing about us without us, they do not necessarily want to hear from us. Young people want to hear from other young people, as do people with a disability. It is the same with Travellers, immigrants and homeless people. All of these groups who have a tendency not to vote want to hear from people like them. That is what we will do. We will fund those campaigns.
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