Facebook have created a special "I'm a Voter button" for the Irish public, ahead of Friday's General Election

The new button will appear on the news feeds of those over 18 years of age, in Ireland.

The initiative is aimed at encouraging more people to cast their vote in the General Election.

Facebook also say the economy has overtaken health, as the most talked about general election topic, on the social networking site.

Elizabeth Linder a Politics expert with Facebook, is hoping once people see that their friends have voted - they will be encouraged to do likewise.

She has said the economy was the most talked about topic on their site, during last nights leaders debate: “And it was quite interesting to see how the demographics and age split between those.

“So where men and younger people were more likely to talk about health, women and people aged 25+ were more likely to discuss the economy during the debate.”