Surge in students and unemployed casting their vote

THE February general election results for Fine Gael and Labour were spurred on by a surge in votes from students, the 18-24 age group and the growing list of the unemployed.

Details provided in a new Central Statistics Office survey suggests voter participation in the specific groups rose significantly in 2011 compared to a similar study compiled for the 2002 general election .

According to the findings, based on voter interest and abstention questions answered by 33,612 people in the April-June quarterly national household survey, 82% of those surveyed took part in this year’s election, compared to 76% in 2002.