About half of those interviewed in Ballymun D area last week said they did not plan to vote
THERE IS no point in voting for any politician as none of them understands poverty or young people, says youth worker Paul O’Neill.
Standing in a doorway outside Ballymun shopping centre, the slim-built man in his mid-20s says the prevalence of poverty and drugs are his main concerns.
“I don’t vote, don’t see the point in this country. If a politician could put our money up and do something about how the problems are causing people to turn to drinking and addictions, I might vote for them. But as it is, I think we should give the country back to the English and let them do a better job.”
This is electoral area Ballymun D, in the Dublin North West constituency. It is the electoral area which, with a voter turnout of 30.03 per cent in 2007, had the lowest voter turnout in Dublin and the second lowest in the State.
Of those who spoke to this reporter last week, about half said they did not plan to vote and of those who did, most had not decided who to vote for. Of those who had, all planned to vote for Sinn Féin.
“Definitely Dessie Ellis. He’s the only one who gets things done for people around here,” said Elaine Collins, a employee of Laverty’s pharmacy. Sinn Féin and Labour Party posters were festooned throughout the area.
There were no Fianna Fáil posters visible, nor were there Fine Gael or Green Party posters, though these did start to appear along the road out of Ballymun towards Glasnevin.
Pushing a buggy along Balbutcher Lane, Suzanne Hamill, in her 20s, says she doesn’t know if she’ll vote. “The main issue for me would be the cuts. I get €280 a week for me and four children. It’s pretty bad.”
Damien Doyle (18) is walking through the almost deserted shopping centre, where most of the premises are boarded up. “Yeah, I could vote, but I’m not going to . . . I’m not interested in politics. I’m doing a Fás course and I couldn’t be bothered.”
On Sillogue Road, which the Ballymun regeneration project has not yet reached, blocks of flats still stand, some without tenants , with windows smashed and net curtains billowing.
Walking towards the main road Rory Martin, a thin-faced, earnest young man, says he won’t be voting for anyone “unless they can get me a job and do something about my rent of €90 a week. I am into politics but the only ones of any use are Sinn Féin. None of those other parties come near Ballymun. They aren’t interested in people like me.”
Among those who say they will vote are middle-aged couple Catherine and Matthew Donovan.
“Oh yes, we’ll vote, but not for Fianna Fáil. All our children have been blitzed with wage cuts and their mortgages are going up. Part of not voting for them will be about revenge. We used to vote Fianna Fáil,” said Mr Donovan. Asked why he thought many people in the area did not vote, he said: “Young people here are totally disillusioned. And candidates from the main parties don’t come looking for votes here. It’s a socially deprived area and the welfare cuts have been devastating. I think most would be afraid to come canvassing here.”
