Voters in nursing homes begin casting votes

MARY MINIHAN

Eligible voters in nursing homes across the State have begun casting their ballots in the local and European elections

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Nursing home residents in Dublin West and Longford-Westmeath also started voting in the two byelections.

Under election rules, a category known as “special voters” in institutions such as nursing homes, who are unable because of disability to get to polling stations, can opt to vote in the home and these votes are conducted ahead of the election date.

A small number cast votes last week but in most local authority areas returning officers made arrangements for nursing home residents to vote from yesterday. Not all nursing homes vote on the same day, but do so over a number of days.

Anti-abortion campaign

Hustings were held in some nursing homes, including one debate in a home in Kilkenny last week where candidates and their representatives debated the issues of the day.

Separately, Socialist MEP Paul Murphy for Dublin, who is contesting the upcoming election, yesterday published his response to the anti-abortion Pro-Life campaign, which sent a questionnaire to all Irish European Parliament candidates.

He said he would work to repeal the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill. "I will do so because I find it odious, detestable and antediluvian that a woman could be imprisoned for accessing an 'illegal' abortion in Ireland," he said.

'Mislead voters'

Meanwhile, Senator Thomas Byrne, one of Fianna Fáil’s MEP candidates in the Midlands North-West constituency, accused Fine Gael and Labour of “colluding to mislead” voters in advance of the elections. “Their strategy is to make false promises that will not be delivered on and to hold back announcements of cutbacks that will mysteriously happen within a few days of polling,” Mr Byrne said.

A coalition of youth groups is calling on young people to use their vote.

The National Youth Council of Ireland , the Union of Students in Ireland and SpunOut.ie will today launch a “Promote the Vote” campaign. The groups argue that the youth “floating vote” could be the key to the election results. Up to 458,000 young people aged 18-25 have the right to vote, according to the groups.