Press Release | European Movement Ireland Hosts European Elections Midlands-North-West Town Hall

Thursday, 16 May 2024, Galway European Movement Ireland, in co-operation with the European Parliament Liaison Office, this evening hosted the European Elections Midlands Northwest Constituency Town Hall in the Galmont Hotel, Galway City. Next month, nearly 450 million citizens across Europe will go to the polls from June 6 to 9, in Ireland we’ll vote on Friday June 7.

The panel discussion was moderated by Flor MacCarthy of Oireachtas TV and featured; Dr. Brendan Flynn, Head of Discipline Political Science at the School of Political Science & Sociology, University of Galway, Karen Coleman, Editor of EU News Radio (Ireland), and Máirín Ní Ghadhra, Broadcaster, TG4 and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.

Speaking ahead of the event, Noelle O Connell, CEO European Movement Ireland said; “The upcoming European elections will set the direction of the European Union for the next 5 years. This town hall gives an opportunity to voters in the Midlands Northwest constituency to engage directly with their MEP candidates and have their voices heard.”

The panel will discuss topics such as the role of the European Elections, the impact of the European Parliament in our daily lives, and the role of voters in shaping our future. The panel discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A session with MEP candidates and audience members.

This event is part of European Movement Ireland’s Can Vote, Will Vote campaign, which aims to increase voter participation. Turn-out in the 2019 EU elections in Ireland was 49.7%, a drop in comparison to the 2014 turnout of 52.44%, and lower than the European average of 50.66%.

As part of this campaign, EM Ireland have launched the European Elections Information Hub, the go-to website for non-partisan information on the EU elections. The Can Vote, Will Vote campaign is co-funded by the European Union and developed as part of the European Parliament’s Together.eu campaign.

European Movement Ireland will also host an EU Election Town Hall in the Dublin constituency on Thursday 30 May. For more information and to register visit: https://www.europeanmovement.ie/eu-elections-town-hall-ireland-dublin-constituency/

The candidates who attended the event were;