Public apathy on referenda set to rise, says Commission

VOTER turnout will continue to fall unless serious efforts are made to get the electorate interested in the issues at stake, the Referendum Commission has warned.

The Commission, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Finlay, criticised the Government’s lack of action on the problem, and said detailed research was essential to understand the causes.

In a report to the Environment Minister on last October’s Nice Treaty Referendum, the Commission said: “While the Government has experimented with weekend polling and longer opening hours for polling stations, it would seem that no effort was made to evaluate the effectiveness or impact of such moves.”