Findings of survey include strong, continued engagement of young people in 2019 European Parliament Elections
Dublin, 12 July 2019: Executive Director of European Movement Ireland, Noelle O Connell has today welcomed the positive results of the post-Electoral Eurobarometer survey conducted by the European Parliament following the 2019 European Elections. Among the findings there was a clear mobilisation of young voters across Europe. 42% of those aged 18-24 surveyed voted in the 2019 Elections, an increase of 14% from the 28% that voted in the 2014 Elections in the same age group. Noelle O Connell commented on this, “This is greatly encouraging and reflects experiences we have had with the mobilisation of young campaigners and voters in Ireland in the 2015 Referendum on Marriage Equality and more recently in the 2018 Referendum on the 8th Amendment. It is clear that young voters in Ireland and across Europe have a strong sense of the importance of democracy and their place in shaping the future of Europe.”
68% of respondents surveyed felt that their country had benefitted from being a member of the EU. Irish respondents gave the second most positive response of the 17 countries surveyed, with 89% of respondents recognising the benefits of EU membership to Ireland. Noelle O Connell continued, “This high level of support for Ireland’s EU membership is something we in EM Ireland have found in independently conducted surveys of Irish attitudes to the EU annually since 2014. We are delighted to see that support for the EU in Ireland appears to grow year on year. It is also encouraging to see that almost 70% of Irish respondents felt that their voice counted in the EU. This is something that is of great importance to us in EM Ireland, and something we constantly strive to encourage in our work travelling around the country speaking to people about the importance of Europe.”
“Overall, the turnout of voters across Europe was the highest in 20 years. The results of the Eurobarometer survey give us much to both be positive about and to reflect on in our work in EM Ireland”.
ENDS
Press Queries: Lisa Nic an Bhreithimh, Communications and Campaigns Manager, European Movement Ireland
T: 01 662 5815 M: 0879503539 E: lisa@europeanmovement.ie
Notes
- EM Ireland’s Executive Director, Noelle O Connell is available for interview and comment. Contact Lisa Nic an Bhreithimh as above. Tá agallaithe le Gaeilge ar fáil.
- The post-electoral survey of the European Parliament was conducted as Eurobarometer survey 91.5. 27,464 respondents were interviewed face-to-face by Kantar for the European Parliament in all 28 EU member states, drawn from the general population aged 15 or more. Post-election questions were filtered on respondents in the age of voting 18+ (except 16+ in Austria and Malta, 17+ in Greece). The fieldwork took place from 7 – 26 June 2019.
- A full report as well as all results and data tables will be published by the European Parliament in September 2019.
- Full details of the first result of the European Parliament post-electoral survey can be found here
- About European Movement Ireland: Founded in 1954, European Movement (EM) Ireland is the longest established Irish NGO working on European affairs. An independent, not-for-profit, membership organisation, EM Ireland works to develop the connection between Ireland and the European Union. We facilitate links between all sectors of Irish society and the EU, through advocacy campaigns, education programmes, training courses, information briefings and networking events. For more information, visit europeanmovement.ie .