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From www.castlebar.ie General
Castlebar.BIGPolls – 1. What were the main reasons people did not vote for the Government in the recent elections? The first online ‘Castlebar.BIGPoll’ offered a plethora of reasons for possible dissatisfaction with the current government. The reasons were suggested by contributors to the Castlebar Online Forum. You were then asked to rank them in order of your preference as to why you thought people voted against the government parties. The results presented in the table below are similar to the election process itself in that the system allowed your votes to be weighted and this gave an overall score and ranking that accurately reflects the voters’ selections. The results show quite clearly that health issues were the number one reason for voting against the government in the recent local elections. Health came in just ahead of the next nearest source of dissatisfaction, which was broken election promises in general. Planning corruption – i.e. all the Ray Burke, Liam Lawlor tribunal revelations emerged as the third item of most concern. Incompetence including such items as the electronic voting, the iodine tablets, the port tunnel, the Garda pulse system, and so on ranked right up there in the top five too. The rising cost of living came in at number five on your list of most important reasons for dissatisfaction. While some politicians seemed to want to portray the smoking ban as a major item it only came in here at Number 12. Check out the table below – for the real reasons! As always your comments and contributions are welcome on the Castlebar Online Forum or in articles on Castlebar.News. Rank Issue Score % Max Score 1 Undiminished Health Waiting Lists Poor Health Care, Ward Closures, Patients On Trolleys for Days 1418 53 2 Broken General Election Promises 1386 52 3 Planning Corruption - Ray Burke, Liam Lawlor, etc. 1140 43 4 Incompetence (Electronic Voting, Iodine, Port Tunnel, PULSE etc) 990 37 5 Rising Cost of Living 940 35 6 Arrogance (Curtailment of Freedom of Information Act etc) 908 34 7 Perceived Corruption/Jobs for The Boys 842 32 8 Better Alternatives Available 804 30 9 Lack of An Orthopaedics Unit at Mayo General 723 27 10 Charlie McCreevy’s Punchestown Funding and Horsey Antics 685 26 11 Total Neglect of Anything This Side of The Shannon 649 24 12 The Smoking Ban 646 24 13 The Cost of Tribunals 642 24 14 The Unaffordable Price of A First Time Home 637 24 15 The Electronic Voting Fiasco 575 22 16 The Failure to Re-Open The Western Rail Corridor 551 21 17 Rising Education Costs (Particularly Third Level) 507 19 18 Failure to Tackle Street Crime and Public Disorder ; 505 19 19 Rightwing Elements (Mc Creevy and Harney) Having Too Much Input in Govt Policy 487 18 20 Bad Road Infrastructure 472 18 21 The Restrictions On Freedom of Information Act 469 18 22 Our Poor Broadband Infrastructure 459 17 23 Social Welfare Cuts 418 16 24 The Cut Backs in Social Enhancement Schemes 409 15 25 Offshore Accounts 404 15 26 Deportation of Refugees 403 15 27 Beverely Flynn’s Court Case 402 15 28 Jobs/Unemployment 401 15 29 Allowing Shannon to be Used for the Iraq War 392 15 30 Northern Ireland 384 14 31 The Decentralisation Debacle 370 14 32 Payments to The Church to Help Offset The Costs of The Abuse Cases 368 14 33 Worsening Traffic Congestion, Delays to LUAS and Improvements to Public Transport and Road Network 325 12 34 Nice Revote Because They Didnt Like The Results 299 11 35 All The Messing That Went On Over The Stadium and Abbottstown 298 11 36 The Cut Backs in Home Help Allowances 295 11 37 Destruction of Archaeological Sites - Poor Selection of Roads 274 10 38 The Sale of Eircom 267 10 39 The Attempts to Buy Two More Government Jets 267 10 40 Celia Larkin 258 10 41 Too Many Asylum Seekers 240 9 42 Attempts to Hobble Knock Airport Because It Requires A "Subvention" From The Exchequer 234 9 43 The Too Low Port Tunnel and Bridging Luas Over The Red Cow Roundabout Fiascos 234 9 44 Lawlor Being Allowed to Cross ExamineTribunal Witnesses Himself 205 8 © Copyright 2003 by www.castlebar.ie and the author |