Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

The constitutional review group and the all-party committee also went along with this. I am not sure whether the Minister of State is up for it or not, but it is a very inclusive and democratic proposal. Before the Minister of State returned to the Chamber, I was saying that I believe his brother, Niall O'Dowd, would be very supportive of it.

I heard Members speak earlier about bringing down the age of eligibility for election to the Office of President. We want to reduce the age to 18 because we want to give an 18 year old the democratic right to stand for election to the office. We have to give a younger generation the chance to come forward. There are many talented people in this country who could make a contribution.

During the campaign, I noticed that many people were looking for fresh new ideas. They also wanted people from all walks of life to get involved in the democratic process. Section 1(c) gives us the opportunity to be more inclusive, more democratic and open up the pitch. I know many talented young people who would like to make a major contribution but some of them may have been frightened off the pitch after the last presidential election, although that is another issue.

Section (1)(e) allows for a candidate to be nominated directly by 10,000 members of the presidential electorate. It cannot be left only to Members of these Houses. We have to ensure that all angles are covered and 10,000 is a credible figure. I accept the Minister of State's point about people who are nominated by radio stations and so on but we could tidy up that section in the legislation to ensure that it is 10,000 written signatures of registered voters and not somebody running a campaign on a radio station. At the moment, only the councils and the Oireachtas can nominate a candidate.

The debate today has been interesting. I have heard many new ideas on the presidency. I welcome the Bill and I strongly support it.

I also welcome the broader debate. I urge the Minister of State to change his mind. I believe he stated earlier that he would not accept the legislation. This is appalling, it lets us down and it is not democratic. It points to all the waffle that has gone on in this House for the past six months. We all got elected on the basis of reform and change. This is an opportunity for the Minister of State to vote for such change. I call on him to support Deputy Catherine Murphy's legislation and the Independent group.

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