Greens urge students to vote

Voter registration:The Green Party has called on students to vote in the constituencies they live in if they are unable to return home on election day to vote.

The decision to hold the general election on a Thursday has been widely criticised by students, youth groups and the Opposition, who claim that it will effectively disenfranchise thousands of students who are living away from home and will not be able to return to vote.

The Green Party says that students can deregister from their home constituencies and transfer their vote to where they now live through the supplementary register, which is open until Saturday evening.

Students or those who missed the chance to be included on the register of electors can do so through an RFA2 supplementary register form, which is available from local authorities online or in post offices and council offices.

Green Party leader Trevor Sargent described the decision to hold the vote on a Thursday as a "deliberate attempt to exclude young people from voting" and an "act of cynicism".

Patricia McKenna, the party's Dublin Central candidate, called for an extension until Tuesday of the deadline for people to have their names included on the supplementary register.