Voting Behaviour: Continuing De-alignment

Abstract

This chapter uses survey data, and particularly that from the Radio Telefís Éireann Exit poll to explore why people voted as they did. Behaviour shows a very high level of individual volatility, reflecting the very low levels of party attachment in Ireland now. Class voting, though muted, is becoming more prominent. Economic voting is limited as the recovery is not widely felt and the government is given limited credit for the improvement that is recognised. Voters want better public services. More generally, the focus on parties and national matters so marked in 2011 has given way to more local concerns and an emphasis on candidates, most evident in the unprecedented success of independents.