Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for their contributions. I do not have too many questions, because a lot has been said, many questions have been answered and we are here to have a general discussion. We have had quite a few interesting weeks and heard interesting comments.

I congratulate Ms O'Donnell and her Department on the strategy that it has launched. The strategy is fantastic and is something that I wholeheartedly agree with. I have been surprised, and even more so since being elected, at the amount of engagement. I have learned that when one engages with young people that they, in turn, engage. I am talking not just about young people in secondary schools but about those in primary schools as well, whether they are here in the Dáil with a Member or in their schools. Therefore, it is very important to engage with them at a younger age, and this aspect raises the question of whether it is necessary to lower the voting age. I wonder whether we need to start engaging at a younger age while leaving the voting age at 18 years. Mr. Power has already addressed this matter. I would like to know the views of the remaining witnesses on lowering the voting age. Do they think it needs to be examined? Do they think we need to engage more with younger people?

I agree with a lot of what has been said today and shall touch on something my colleague has said. I noted that Mr. McGlacken-Byrne said in his submission: "I would hope that the democratically positive experience of the high turnout seen in the May referendums would not act as a disincentive to enact much needed change." If anything, I think the turnout has done the opposite. A Carlow-Kilkenny by-election took place at the same time as the referendum and the number of spoiled votes was between 3% and 4% higher than the normal rate for a local or general election. There are problems with registrations. People made an effort to register, travel home and go into a voting booth, but many chose to vote in the referendum and not in the by-election. That shows that a more serious question needs to be answered. Why did people who went to the trouble of coming home to vote in the referendum choose not to vote in the by-election? That highlights the need for education and engagement in terms of voting. How do the witnesses view this matter? We touched on the subject last week when we spoke to one of our guests, Dr. Liam Weeks, who replied that education was key, but I feel that if young people are saying that politicians do not engage with them, we are the ones who need to be educated. Perhaps we should start engaging with people more. I would like to hear the views of the witnesses on these matters.