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UCD students set to vote ‘Yes’ to Lisbon

Submitted by Gavan Reilly, Deputy Editor on Tuesday, 29 September 20096 Comments

•    57% of students in favour, 17% against; 22% undecided
•    Two-thirds of undecided student voters are female

UCD Students are likely to vote overwhelmingly in favour of the Lisbon Treaty, with 57 per cent of those polled preparing to vote Yes in Friday’s referendum, while 22 per cent of students have yet to decide how they will cast their votes.

lisbon An exclusive poll released today by The University Observer, taken late last week on the Belfield campus, showed that only 17 per cent of students intend to vote No to the Treaty, a much lower proportion of voters than are indicated in recent nationwide opinion polls.

Of students who were yet to decide how to vote, over two thirds – 68 per cent – were female.

Male voters surveyed expressed greater support for the referendum, with 66 per cent of respondents intending to vote Yes, 16 per cent voting No, and an almost identical number undecided on how to vote. Female voters were slightly less polarised, with just over 50 per cent having decided to support the Treaty, compared to 18 per cent disapproval. 28 per cent of female students were yet to decide how to cast their vote at Friday’s polls.

Splitting the results of the poll by each of UCD’s five Colleges, students in the College of Business & Law were most strongly supportive of the Treaty. 68 per cent of students in the College intended to vote Yes, with just 8 per cent against ratification. The College of Arts & Celtic Studies was the only one not to report a clear majority of Yes votes, though the pro-Lisbon vote still totals 47 per cent, with 24 per cent of students declaring themselves against the Treaty.

Only 3.2 per cent of students who have registered to vote said they were unlikely to vote in Friday’s referendum.

500 students took part in The University Observer’s survey, which was undertaken on Thursday and Friday of last week in a variety of major buildings throughout the Belfield campus.

Meanwhile a poll of NUI Galway students at a debate organised by their Literary and Debating Society showed a very narrow margin of victory for the Yes side. As with the first referendum, these results would suggest greater support for the Yes side in the Dublin area, than in more rural parts of the country. Unlike with the first referendum however, the Yes side appears to be narrowly leading with students in the west.

Methodology
Students were interviewed on Thursday 24th and Friday 25th September, and asked, “Are you registered to vote, and if so, how are you planning on voting in the Lisbon Treaty referendum?” A small additional number of staff were also interviewed but their responses were later discounted. The responses of students who were ineligible to vote or who were not registered to do so were disregarded. The total number of valid responses tabulated in the survey was 500.

6 Comments »

  • anders erk said:

    Well, dear students
    I just hope you studied the contents, and didn’t buy an idea that the treaty is modern, forward and progressive. As it is a defense and effort to fix some ideas emanating from the days when the word “environment” wasn’t known and people moved money across borders in bags to invest in production……

    greetings from a postmodern Swede who cannot vote, but would, as most of our people, vote no.

    - 30 September 2009 at 10:21 pm
  • Leo Beata said:

    To the Irish people, please vote “NO”
    29 september 2009, kl 14:39 Skrivet av Leo Beata Anmäl !
    for Europe, for a little bit of democracy, for sovereinity, for some power to the small countries…

    In Sweden we were promised exceptions when we were to vote for the EU-membership 14 years ago. Today they are all gone, and EU roles our lives and we just have to obey…

    For a peaceful future, please vote “NO” on friday.

    - 1 October 2009 at 8:40 am
  • Maja said:

    Hi,
    you have the opportuny to vote – the Swedish people didn’t have that and we are now ruled from another country. They will drill in our nature for Uranium, destroying our land, and we can’t stop them – thanks to the Lisbon tractate.
    You are not alone, please vote “no” for us, we were not allowed to.
    Yours,
    Marianne

    - 1 October 2009 at 8:46 am
  • Klas said:

    We from outside Ireland envy you that are allowed to vote at all. We weren’t. They just put this treaty in our lap. All of you in doubt: Please vote NO! Please be the voice of all doubtful europeans who wasn’t allowed to make their voices heard. This treaty is no good. It takes more power from our hands and puts it where it certainly don’t belong. That’s why our “leaders” doesn’t want any debate, and don’t want to listen the people.

    - 1 October 2009 at 11:16 am
  • Robert said:

    Hi folk’s,
    If your’e in favour of ONE Central Bank
    ONE Economic Policy,
    ONE Social Policy,
    ONE European Government,
    ONE army,
    ONE Defense,
    ONE Leader,
    ONE whatever you can think of,
    then vote yes, cause your in favour
    of The United States of Europe.
    This is the crux of the matter,
    I myself do not want The United States of Europe
    and would then say NO, but I was never given
    the chance to vote.
    Once you’ve voted YES, you will never get a second chance
    to regret yourself like when you the first time said NO.

    The key to The United States of Europe is
    in the palm of your hand ….. open that door
    or throw the key away. The choise is you’s.

    Greetings from
    Robert of Sweden

    - 1 October 2009 at 5:29 pm
  • Michael D said:

    Europe is vital to Ireland’s economic recovery, which is why I’m voting YES. I orginally had my doubts, but after correct reading and consideration, my opinion changed on the matter. The fact is, if we reject the Treaty, our country will not be guaranteed an EU commisioner, without one, we will lose our voice in Europe.

    If you want Ireland to progress any further, a YES vote is entirely nessecary.

    Michael

    - 2 October 2009 at 1:27 am