Bid to up voter turnout in European polls

ACROSS Europe a raft of new websites, advertising campaigns and information points is focusing more attention on the European Parliament elections than ever before.

This is a massive attempt to change the fact that voting for MEPs tends to be the poor relation in the election calendar, not just in Ireland, but throughout Europe.

Ireland bucked the trend five years ago when the number casting their ballot increased, but the curve in the EU generally tends to be down, despite the massive change in the status of the Parliament and the increasing say it has in legislation affecting every facet of daily life.