Irish General Election - Friday, November 29th *Read OP for Mod Warnings*

Young people are too busy at home watching TV, playing playstation or out drinking. Plus there has been a few elections and a referendum this year so there's going to be fatigue.

Their outlook on life is probably just move abroad like the slightly older people they know if things don't work out here. They can't be arsed solving the problems old people created.

What a weird and uninspiring political landscape we've ended up with. Unfortunately there is still not much appetite in this country for a true left alternative to the centre right FF FG hegemony. I don't know what SF represent honestly I can't see any coherent philosophy and they need some serious quality control with their candidates. I think a large part of their vote is anti-state protest stuff still.

What a shame the various left leaning groups can't ever seem to compromise and organize and form a large cohesive left party that's a legitimate alternative for those of us who want a worker focused party that prioritizes fairness above all.

There's a reason why alot of people dont like the left when you see the likes of Brid Smith from PBP on there tv.

It's such an awful party

The youth vote fails to turn up again. They turned out in force for the marriage and abortion referendum but when it comes to less hip stuff they couldn't be arsed.

At least they got nice selfies at Dublin castle.

The bollox about young people not being registered or ready to vote? Seriously? There were local & European elections in May.

The turnout is awful and it's an indictment of the lack of political engagement amongst the young and the disadvantaged. RTE are reporting turnout in Adamstown at 28% and jobstown at 38%.

If parties can't engage those most in need of change in any enthusiasm in voting for them? There won't be any worthwhile change. We will be condemned to the minor party in the inevitable FFG coalition to gain small concessions and for that junior partner to rotate at each GE.

Ireland is very much a Centrist country.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail are Centrist, although I'm sure many will try and portray they as being well off to the right.

Sinn Fein of course are more left wing than the above, but once they did well in the previous election, they started to move towards the centre to try and attract voters from that section, as they recognize that's where most Irish voters lie.

Labour in the past moved towards the centre to attain more of the electorate.

Centrist beliefs are just a representation of the way most Irish people feel tbh.

Read the post in its totality, rather than pick a word completely out of context. Indeed the sentence immediately prior to "condemned"

If parties can't engage those most in need of change in any enthusiasm in voting for them?

If a party can't get even those who would be the biggest beneficiary of their being elected to vote for them? Then of course it's a failing of the party in engaging with their electorate,not a failure of democracy.

Of course it's a democratic result. That doesn't mean however that apathy won't be the death of reflective representation in our democracy.

Very true - pretty much impossible for any other party to get a shoe in in Irish politics. its still very much the home has always voted "insert FF or FG"

Maybe one of them should go in with SF to show people how ridiculous some of their policies are.

Would be nice to see some change but just so unlikely with such a splintered left who can't even agree with each other, none of them even wanted to partner with SF for transfers, regardless of history, just for a chance at power

Hosp care is already tax-financed, so no change required there.

The SF affordable houses apply only to a certain cohort of people.

I see national school and secondary school kids and they haven't a notion about politics. I'm almost 50 and when I was that age we were much more clued in about elections and the value of democracy and your vote. We received this education pretty directly from those who fought for our freedom.

Today the youngsters are far removed from our fight for freedom.

that's a nice haul for the government. and what do they do with all that money? we have an abomination of a health service, roads and water infrastructure literally falling apart. permanent boil water notices all over the country. And not to mention this:

In Ireland in 2023

• Approximately, 559,850 people were at risk of poverty.
• Approximately, 913,000 people were experiencing enforced deprivation.
• Approximately, 182,050 people living in consistent poverty.

In a country with a population of 5 million.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

I disagree that SF don't want it. The country doesn't want SF.

Almost 60% (exit poll figures) give their first preference vote to someone other than FG or FF. Almost two thirds of that 60% goes somewhere else than SF.