Mr. James Doorley:

I agree with Deputy O'Donoghue regarding votes for young people. It would mean that their issues would get on the agenda because as we know, the democratic system we have is designed to respond to voters' needs. Certainly if 16- and 17-year-olds had a vote, different decisions on issues such as the driver theory test or, in the past couple of years, the leaving certificate might have been made.

I also agree with Deputy O'Donoghue on linking the PPS number to the voting card. I have had personal experience of receiving voting cards for deceased members of my family. It is very upsetting. It is not the fault of the local authorities. Unfortunately, they do not have a proper system in place. Anything that would improve the system and allow people to be taken off the register when they have passed away would be very welcome.

I also agree that we need to get our local authorities and our Parliament to represent citizens. There are particular issues for young people in terms of getting on to local authorities. Deputy O'Donoghue mentioned some councillors in his area who had to step down because of work commitments. We need to look at supporting young people to get involved in politics but also at supporting them once they get there. I would certainly agree with that at both the local and national level. We need to get the best. All of the committee members put themselves forward for election and they now have a mandate. We need to ensure that all of our citizens have such an opportunity to go forward. We certainly support young people's right to run. Whether they get elected is up to the electorate but if they are elected, they should be supported to fulfil their mandate.