Tom Shehan (Fine Gael)

I want to raise the issue of the youth vote and echo a call by the National Youth Council of Ireland urging young people to have their voice heard and register to vote in the forthcoming referendum on the European stability treaty on 31 May. A previous NYCI study found that as little as 26% of 18 to 25-year olds were registered to vote, rising to 36% among 18 to 21 year olds. Campaigns such as the Rock the Vote campaign in Canada and the United States went some way to increasing participation of younger people in the electoral process. I hope that all parties, regardless of their stance on the treaty, will do everything in their power to encourage those in the under-25 age bracket to register and vote on 31 May.