Ireland goes to the polls today (Friday, November 29) in the General Election to decide which 174 TDs will sit in the 34th Dáil.
Voting began at 7am this morning and polling stations are open until 10pm tonight.
There are nearly 700 candidates running in the General Election and political analysts believe that this time around it could be a closely run race to the Dáil.
According to Gary Murphy, Professor of Politics at the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University, while key issues such as housing and the cost of living are dominant across country there also remains an “urban, rural divide” on specific concerns.
General Election
Prof. Murphy told Agriland‘s AgriFocus Podcast that for some, there is “a feeling in rural Ireland that it has been left behind”.
He expects this sentiment to be reflected in voting decisions in rural areas.
According to Prof. Murphy any one of the parties would need to win 88 seats to hold a majority in the Dáil which means the most likely outcome is another coalition government after the General Election.
In a special debate as part of Agriland‘s GE24 series Elaine Houlihan, president of Macra, Francie Gorman, president of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) Denis Drennan president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) Vincent Roddy. president of the Irish Natura & Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) and Sean McNamara, president of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) also highlighted what they believe will be the key issues on rural voters’ minds today.
According to the farm leaders when rural voters go to the polls today the key issues that may influence their decisions chiefly include succession, farmer income, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget and the future of the nitrates derogation.