Dr. Shana Cohen:

From the people I have talked to, I am not sure if it is necessarily a distrust of democracy. I think it is just a disconnect with politics and I differentiate between the two. It is not necessarily that people are going to say that they want an authoritarian regime or to be governed by a fascist, although there are elements of that. I think it is more that people feel that the political class is not responding fast enough or taking them seriously enough, as residents of Ireland or constituents. There are questions of voter turnout or engagement. I interviewed a person in an area of north Dublin who held a voter-registration session and only three people showed up. She thought that perhaps people were registering online. There is also the point that the way social housing was constructed makes it difficult for politicians to canvass during election season because it is hard to get in to the housing complexes.

The connection with the political class is more the issue. It may differ on an individual basis, but what we have seen as the problem is more about bridging this gap. It is not necessarily that these people do not believe in democracy, voting or being represented. They want people to listen to them. They want their voices heard and to see a response.