The local and European elections take place today, Friday 7th June. Polling stations across the country opened at 7am and remain open all day, closing at 10pm. 

Voters will cast their ballots to elect members of local councils and the European Parliament. In Limerick, Ireland’s first ever directly elected mayor will be voted in.

On the morning of the vote Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan urged members to make their voices heard. He said: “We are privileged to live in a democracy where we get to choose who makes decisions at local, national and European level."

"Public representatives serve the people who elect them. As a union we fight for fairness at work and for better public services every day. Voting is another way to make our collective voice heard.”

In the local elections close to 2000 candidates are running in 31 local authorities. In total there are 949 seats to be filled across 166 local electoral areas.

The European elections take place every five years, voters in 27 EU member states elect 720 MEPs to the European Parliament. The European Parliament is the world’s only directly elected transnational assembly. Not all countries vote on the same day, so the elections run from 6-9 June.

In Ireland they take place on the same day as the local elections. Ireland elects 14 MEPs to the European Parliament from three constituencies: Dublin (four seats), Midlands North-West (five seats), and Ireland South (five seats).

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions produced a manifesto outlining the European priorities for the trade union movement, you can read it here. 

As part of the More Power to You coalition Fórsa, along with SIPTU, and Connect, published a local election manifesto calling for stronger local government and local services, and more effective local democracy. 

The measures called for include:

• Better funding for local authorities
• Directly elected mayors
• Return of waste collection services to local authorities
• Referendum on public ownership of water
• Local authority led cost rental public housing 
• Increased local authority direct labour for homer energy upgrades and maintenance
• Local authority led community ownership of renewable energy projects

The Electoral Commission website contains useful guides on how Ireland’s PR-STV voting system works, and all the practical details related to the election. You can consult it here.

There’s never been a better time to join a union, and it’s never been easier. Join Fórsa today.