ETBs to promote voter participation
Pictured at Hear my Voice: The learner in Education & Citizenship ETBI Annual Conference 2024 in Wexford, members of Kilkenny & Carlow Education & Training Board
IRELAND’S Education & Training Boards (ETBs), including Kilkenny and Carlow ETB, have committed to working with the Electoral Commission to encourage voter participation and to challenge all political parties to tackle inequality in the upcoming general election and new programme for government.
The pledge was made to more than 200 delegates attending the Education & Training Boards Ireland annual conference in Wexford.
Art O’Leary, CEO of An Coimisiún Toghcháin, said: “We know that of those citizens who didn’t vote in the recent local elections, 17% said it was because they didn’t know who to vote for, 14% said it was because they weren’t interested in politics, and 10% said their vote didn’t matter. These are the people that as Ireland’s electoral commission we need to win over. With a footprint in every town, city and county across primary, post-primary and further education and training, ETBs are critical to the development and delivery of our voter-education programme.”
Cllr Andrea Dalton, newly-elected chairperson of Kilkenny and Carlow ETB, participated in a key conference panel discussion to launch a new governance training programme for ETB board members nationwide.
