Minister for Youth Affairs, Mr Willie O'Dea, this afternoon launched a campaign to encourage the half a million under 25 year olds eligible to vote to cast their ballot in the forthcoming general election.
The print and radio media campaign will be spear-headed by international football star, Niall Quinn, and will be non-party political.
The low turnout of young voters in recent years has prompted this initiative. According to the Government, unless voter apathy amongst the young is tackled, turnout at future elections could be as low as 30 per cent.
Speaking at the launch, Mr O’Dea appealed to young voters to exercise their democratic rights and vote for the political candidates of their choice.
He went on to say that research done on recent voting trends amongst young voters shows that "there is a serious problem to be addressed. The fact that half of all voters under the age of 25 may not even vote in the forthcoming election is a very worrying statistic."
A report by the Referendum Commission, based on a study referendums on the Belfast Agreement and the Amsterdam Treaty, showed that there was evidence of distinct voter apathy among young voters. Only 39 per cent of the 18 to 24 age group voted, compared to a turn out of 68 per cent of those over the age 40 and 75 per cent of voters in the 55 to 64 age group.