Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I commend my constituency colleague on introducing the debate on this issue but otherwise we will swim in different directions. The existing Constitution is almost 80 years old and this would be the 34th amendment. The Constitution itself has only 50 articles. The existing Constitution has no kinship with what life was like in 1937. This country has changed utterly, some of it for the better and some of it not so. We should have a Constitution that reflects modern Ireland and not one that belongs to another age, although that is a question for another day.

Two suggestions have been made. First every citizen of Ireland would be able to vote, irrespective of where he or she lives, be it in Australia, in Canada or elsewhere. I am not aware of any other country that has implemented a scheme that would allow the franchise to be extended to every part of the world. From the experience of someone who had to get up and leave during a particular time in his own life and live under the Queen, I can tell Deputies that those of us among the working Irish in London spent very little time thinking about whether we had a vote back here. That is not to say it was not referred to. It was referred to and it was part of an ongoing political debate. However, among those who leave the country, especially those who establish themselves in Australia, Canada or England and can retain a connection with this country through their families or the GAA, I do not think there is a yearning or a burning ambition to have a say in the election of a President in a country in which they do not live.

References have been made to the connection with Northern Ireland, but if one were to talk to Ulster Protestants about extending the franchise to them to vote for a President down here, they would say it was none of their business. Many nationalists in Northern Ireland, being practical Ulster people, would not get too excited about whether they had a vote in a presidential election here. We have to have a Presidency under the Constitution, but the office has never had power, although it has some influence, which is important in politics; I am not dismissing that. Some of the best speeches in modern Ireland were made by Presidents, irrespective of what their politics might have been. We are not living in France, so the Presidency does not have that sort of influence in this country's political life. I do not like using the word "token", but the Presidency is pretty limited; it has influence but no power.

I have no difficulty with lowering the voting age to 16. I went to the Young Scientist exhibition in January and saw a stand operated by teachers from a secondary school that both Deputy Crowe and I are familiar with. Their project was on 16 year olds voting. The greater proportion of those interviewed by the school students - I think it was 73% - either said they did not care or would not vote. People may say things in polls, but I am not saying that would apply if they had the opportunity to vote.

Those of us who are involved in politics, from all sides of the House, are aware of a big change taking place in this country. The issue is no longer the turnout but the fact that more and more people do not vote. That is a real issue for all of us. I will use my own constituency of Dublin South-West as an example. In last year's local elections almost 68% of voters stayed at home. In a by-election in the same constituency, 65% of people stayed at home. We keep talking about turnout, but that is no longer the problem for us as politicians; it is the fact that more and more people do not vote. While I have no difficulty with lowering the voting age to 16, we must all face up to some truths about the nature of Irish politics and address the fact that so many people do not vote. That says something about everyone here, and, irrespective of whether we think we know what is happening, that is the reality on the ground. In last year's European Parliament election for the Dublin constituency, 56% of people did not bother to vote. Ireland has done pretty well out of the EU, but the majority did not even go out to vote for it. I find it extraordinary because the trend is only going in one direction.

I have no difficulty with the principle of giving 16 year olds the opportunity to vote. However, while we say we will lower the age to allow younger people to vote in presidential elections, at the same time in the Constitution we tell 16 year olds that they must be 34 before they can be a presidential candidate. That is a complete contradiction. If we think it is good enough for 16 year olds to choose TDs, MEPs or the President, why can 16 year olds not be presidential candidates? I think we have to look at that.

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