10 June, 2004

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Sinn Féin tops teen poll

TEEN IDOL isn't a description you readily associate with Sinn Féin local election candidates but Dublin City Councillor Christy Burke could possibly lay claim to the title after he topped a mock ballot held among teenagers in Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's Dublin North Inner City constituency last week.

The poll came at the end of 'Young Ballots and Barbecue', a series of voter education workshops organised by the community-based Inner City Organisations Network and local youth projects. The initiative helped young people highlight issues affecting them, why voting is important, identifying what parties and candidates stand for, showed them how to register, what to do at a polling station, and looked at community involvement in the planning and delivery of services.

Christine Taylor, a community development worker with the Inner City Organisations Network, said:

"These youngsters showed that they care about their communities. Whether they are first-time voters this week or voters of the future, they can be active citizens today.

"Politicians and local groups need to find ways to give young people a say and a stake in their community, not just on polling day but in-between elections."

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