Today, the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) is supporting the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) large-scale ‘super Yes canvass’ of Dublin today from 12pm to 6pm across key locations all over the city. The canvass comes as part of the final push mobilising tens of thousands of voters to vote ‘Yes’ ahead of polling day on May 25th.
USI President Michael Kerrigan, who will be canvassing with USI, said:
“It’s great to see almost 100 Trinity students holding over 20 Together for Yes stalls across Dublin today. Despite exams being on, students are still actively campaigning to remove the cruel Eighth Amendment. Students are ready for change, and are demanding a more caring and compassionate Ireland.”
“We’re inviting anyone who has questions about the Eighth Amendment to come up and talk to students today,” Kerrigan said.
“We’ve seen and heard misinformation from the ‘No’ campaign to try and confuse and conflate the issue of abortion, and disrupt people getting the facts. This referendum is not a vote for abortion, because abortion is already happening here in Ireland. This vote is about healthcare at home, and providing regulated and safe care for pregnant people.”
TCDSU President Kevin Keane said:
“For decades, the student movement has led the charge for reproductive rights in Ireland. With 10 days to go until we go to the polls, we are placing huge emphasis on conversations with voters. We’ve been running a stall on College Green every day for the last three weeks, and the response has been incredible.
“The last week of the campaign will focus on getting out the vote for Yes, and while that’s extremely important and very welcome, we want to show that not only will students get out and vote on May 25th, we will be leading the march to the polls, to usher in a new era of compassion and care, here in Ireland.”
Last week, USI announced that Students’ Unions all over Ireland have directly registered 26,979 new student voters in the in the lead up to the referendum to remove the Eighth Amendment. USI is the national representative body for the 374,000 students in third level education on the Island of Ireland, and is a member of the national civil society campaign, Together For Yes.