http___www.universitytimes.ie_2016_06_ba-cheart-go-mbeadh-fearg-ar-dhaoine-oga-sa-riocht-aontaithe-i-gcomhair-a-gcomhaoiseanna-nar-votail__1.xml
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When it comes to the European Union (EU), there are several differences between the United Kingdom and Ireland, and we didn’t need last Thursday’s referendum result to tell us that. Most of these differences were actually evident in the most recent Eurobarometer survey, which was conducted in November. Over three-quarters of Irish people felt that they were citizens of the EU, one of the highest figures in the union. Only half of citizens felt the same way in the UK. Asked whether they thought Ireland would be able to face the future better outside of the EU, 25 per cent of Irish people thought it could. Across the Irish Sea, around half of citizens thought that the UK could. This positioned the UK as one of the most Eurosceptic countries in the union, and Ireland amongst the least. Ireland’s people have also been given the right to vote on EU treaties, enlargement, and most recently the Fiscal Compact Treaty, something that had only happened once before in the UK. But Thursday’s referendum revealed an equally pronounced difference between the UK and Ireland: that of youth engagement with politics. On what has been described as an “existential question of national destiny” for the UK, just 36 per cent of 18–24 year olds decided it was worth their time to reach a polling station, seven percentage points lower than the turnout for the same group at the 2015 UK general election, and an order of magnitude lower than the 72 per cent overall turnout. In comparison, over 80 per cent of the same age cohort were expected to vote in Ireland’s general election in February, and we need not even go into how instrumental Ireland’s young people were to last year’s marriage equality referendum result. Youth turnout had also been described as key to the passing of the second Lisbon Treaty referendum in Ireland. It is the UK’s young people who, by definition, will have to live longest with the result. Not only do they lose citizenship of the EU, but the right to live and work in 27 other EU countries. While young voters in the UK are right to blame the older generations who turned out in droves to vote out of the EU, they should be just as incensed by the turnout of their peers.
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Maidir leis an Aontas Eorpach, tá roinnt difríochtaí idir Éirinn agus an Ríocht Aontaithe, agus ní raibh torthaí an reifrinn an Déardaoin riachtanach chun é sin a bheith ar eolas againn. Ba léir iad na difríochtaí sin sa tsuirbhé Eurobarometer is déanaí, a rinneadh i mí na Samhna seo caite. Chreid níos mó ná trí cheathrú d’Éireannaigh gur saoránaigh den Aontas Eorpach a bhí iontu, ceann de na figiúirí is airde san aontas. Níor mhothaigh ach leath de dhaoine amhlaidh sa Ríocht Aontaithe. Agus ceist curtha orthu faoi ionchais na hÉireann taobh amuigh den Aontas Eorpach, níor cheap ach 25 faoin gcéad d’Éireannaigh gurbh fheidir éirí leis an tír níos fearr. Ar thaobh eile Mara Éireann, cheap leath de dhaoine gurbh fhéidir éirí níos fearr leis an Ríocht Aontaithe. Déanann na torthaí sin den Ríocht Aontaithe ceann de na tíortha is Eoraisceiptí san aontas, agus d’Éirinn ceann de na tíortha leis an méid is mó Eorabhaigh. Ina theannta sin, tugadh an deis d’Éireannaigh vótáil maidir le conarthaí an Aontais Eorpaigh, le méadú, agus leis an gConradh maidir le Comhshocrú Fioscach, deis nár thugadh do dhaoine sa Ríocht Aontaithe ach uair amháin roimhe sin. Ach nocht an reifreann an Déardaoin difríocht shoiléir eile idir Éirinn agus an Ríocht Aontaithe, difríocht a bhaineann le rannpháirtíocht pholaitiúil na hóige. Maidir lena ainmnítear “ceist eiseach de chinniúint náisiúnta” don Ríocht Aontaithe, níor mheas ach 36 faoin gcéad de dhaoine idir 18 agus 24 bliain d’aois gurbh fhiú é cuairt a thabhairt ar ionad vótaíochta, seacht bpointe céatadáin níos lú ná an méid daoine den aoisghrúpa sin a vótáil san olltoghchán sa bhliain 2015, agus ord méadaíochta níos lú ná an 72 faoin gcéad de shaoránaigh a vótáil sa reifreann. I gcomparáid leis sin, ceapadh go raibh 80 faoin gcéad den aoisghrúpa sin chun vótáil in olltoghchán na hÉireann i mí Feabhra, agus sin gan aghaidh a thabhairt ar an tábhacht a bhain le daoine óga na hÉireann do thoradh an reifrinn faoi Chomhionannas Pósta den bhliain seo caite. Comh maith leis sin, dúradh go raibh an méid daoine óga a vótáil suntasach chun Conradh Liospóin a rith sa dara reifreann in Éirinn. Is iad daoine óga na Ríochta Aontaithe a bheidh orthu maireachtáil leis an toradh sin don tréimhse is faide, de bharr a n-óige féin. Ní hamháin a saoránacht Eorpach a chailleann siad, ach an ceart maireachtála agus oibre i 27 ballstát eile. Cé go bhfuil vótálaithe óga i gceart agus iad ag cur an locht ar ghiniúintí níos sine a vótáil go mór chun an Aontas Eorpach a fhágáil, ba cheart go mbeadh an fearg chéanna orthu de bharr an mhéid bheag dá gcomhaoiseanna a vótáil sa reifreann.