Local elections drew 400,000 extra voters

ALMOST 400,000 more people turned out to vote in last year’s local elections - a 10% hike on the previous election, a study has revealed.

There was a lot of concern before the local elections about the declining numbers of voters, with the figure hitting an all-time low of 50% in 1999, according to General Council of County Councils (GCCC) director Liam Kenny.

But the trend was reversed in 2004, with 1.839 million Irish people voting and the turnout in a number of Dublin and Cork electoral areas doubling, Mr Kenny added.