Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tairgim: "Go léifear an Bille an Dara hUair anois."

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am introducing this Bill, the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (No. 2) Bill, to lower the voting age in all elections and referenda to 16 years of age. The Bill would allow for Article 16 of the Constitution to be changed and amended as follows:

(a) “sé bliana déag” shall be substituted for “ocht mbliana déag” in subsection 2° of section 1 of the Irish text,

(b) “sixteen years” shall be substituted for “eighteen years” in subsection 2° of section 1 of the English text.

When the Constitutional Convention supported the lowering of the voting age to 16 years last March, the Government hinted that it would respond favourably to the proposal or at least give serious consideration to the holding of a referendum in conjunction with other planned referendums. Unfortunately, when it offered a response last July it was to rule out the holding of a referendum to put the proposition to the electorate. This is the reason I have brought the Bill to the House today. We hear people on all sides of the House discussing the inclusion of young people in the democratic process. The fact that other parties and the Independent groups have not put forward speakers is unfortunate. It shows that some people in the House are not serious about this. However, young people are. Our party has listened to extensive lobbying, as I imagine have the Government parties in respect of lowering the voting age.

I believe that the proposed constitutional amendment would bring about a broadening of the franchise and provide more young people with a sense of ownership of the democratic process. Moreover, from a practical point of view it makes sense to hold such a referendum on the same day as the other referendum proposing to lower the age at which citizens can stand for presidential election. We welcome that in Sinn Féin. However, what the Government is putting to the people in May in respect of young people standing for President is narrow and limited. It would allow for the possibility of one person between the ages of 21 and 35 to become President. Although Sinn Féin supports that, what we are proposing is far bigger and broader. We are proposing a measure to allow 100,000 plus young people to fully participate in the democratic process. The proposal would allow young people between the ages of 16 and 18 years to fully participate and be full members of Irish society and they would be allowed to vote in every election and referendum. That is far more important than giving one person the chance to become President, which is the extent of the Government proposal and which requires a referendum. We believe a referendum on this amendment should take place on the same day - whatever date the Government chooses - in May as the same-sex marriage referendum and the lowering of the age to allow a person to become President. We believe this Bill should have been brought forward on the same day. This could have been done at no extra expense and would form part of a wider debate on the democratic process.

The programme for Government committed to holding a constitutional referendum and one of the items to be considered was the lowering of the voting age. In fairness, the Government parties refer to 17 years of age in preference to 16 years in this regard. If this is, in fact, their position, there is nothing to stop the Government putting this proposal to referendum rather than ignoring the issue, which is what the Government is doing. This is the most frustrating aspect of the decision to refuse to hold a referendum.

I realise some recent referendums have become party political, particularly when dealing with the European Union, but this is a matter for the electorate to decide rather than those of us who are members of political parties. On that basis alone I urge members of the Government and Opposition parties to allow a referendum on the proposal to be held on the same day as the proposal to lower the voting age of Presidential candidates.

This is not to say that parties and others should not be allowed campaign for or against a proposition. The real issue is that where there is a substantial public demand to the effect that the Constitution requires updating, a referendum is put and citizens have the final say, regardless of what the party political consensus might be. We saw this when the electorate rejected the proposal to abolish the Seanad last year, despite the support of the majority of the parties in the Dáil.

I would urge those on the Government side to support my proposal to hold a referendum on lowering the voting age to 16 years and let the people decide one way or the other. At the very least, they should allow the Bill go to committee, at which point the Government parties could, if they so wished, amend the Bill to have the voting age lowered to 17 years, if that is the preference, rather than 16 years as per my Bill. Simply blocking a referendum, which could be held on the same day with little or no extra cost, indicates a certain degree of arrogance and a lack of trust in the electorate. The programme for Government favours a similar proposal albeit with the age of 17 years. Here is an opportunity to realise that. The Government could allow this Bill to go to committee and change it, if necessary, by lowering the voting age to 17 years.

One of the reasons this issue is attracting attention is the events in Scotland, where 16 and 17 year olds were allowed to vote in the referendum last year. Not only was that a contributory factor in a significant turnout it encouraged considerable interest in the debate as well and, without a doubt, encouraged younger people to take a greater interest and participate in that debate. The extension of the franchise here would have a similar impact and allow younger people to consider themselves more a part of the democratic process. It would empower them and allow them to believe they have more of a say in the way in which our country and society is run.

Lowering the voting age is gaining considerable support in other countries, although as yet only a few states have extended the franchise to 16 year olds. Within the European Union, only Austria has allowed 16 year olds to vote in all elections. This has been the case since 2007. A growing number of German regions now allow 16 year olds to vote in regional and local elections. There are other examples. Some US states allow people under 18 years to vote in primary elections. Israel allows 17 year olds to vote in local elections.

Scotland is probably the most relevant example since it is close to home. Following the referendum, there is some expectation that the franchise for elections to the Scottish Assembly will be lowered to include 16 and 17 year olds as well. That election will take place next year. In that context, this country could set the trend or at the very least contribute to the debate on the issue simply by deciding to hold a referendum on the debate and on this Bill in May.

The main argument I have heard against lowering the voting age is that most young people under 18 years are not paying tax, in work or otherwise in a situation where major budgetary and political decisions affect them directly. Similar arguments were once made about women, that they did not pay taxes, political affairs did not affect them and that they were not fully part of the economy. Before that, the franchise was confined to rate payers who were the only ones considered to have a stake in the country. I do not accept that 16 and 17 year olds are not full citizens. They are an integral part of society through the education system. Many of them are working and on the brink of taking a full part in the education system and the economy. As such, they are entitled not only to have their views on the decisions that impact on their lives taken into consideration but also to have a direct say in electing the people who make these decisions.

From Sinn Féin’s engagement on the Bill, particularly through Senator Kathryn Reilly, it is clear that there is significant interest in and support for lowering the voting age across a broad section of young people and their organisations. We have met representatives of the National Youth Council of Ireland, the Union of Students of Ireland, Foróige, An Óige, Scouting Ireland, Pavee Point and the youth sections of other political parties, which underlines the fact that my proposal is in no way party political, as it has wide support across all parties, probably even in the Minister's party. This must be taken into consideration. In that spirit, the proposal should be dealt with on its merits, rather than as a Bill proposed by Sinn Féin. The Government will, in a serial way, reject every Sinn Féin Bill, but this Bill presents an opportunity, as we are putting forward something constructive. We complain that young people do not take enough interest in politics; this is an opportunity to change that. I ask that we put aside our party hats on this issue, as we have done on the other constitutional proposals to be put to the people this year which the Opposition will be supporting, or at least this party will be at any rate.

Lowering the voting age is a practical proposal to extend the democratic franchise and extend and deepen the participation of young people as full citizens of the State, as well as deepening and broadening our democracy. If the Government parties do not agree with the proposal to lower the age to 16 years, they could address the issue on Committee Stage through an amendment that would reflect their own preference for lowering the voting age to 17. The way to facilitate any proposal is to allow this Bill to proceed to the next Stage.

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