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

Sinn Féin welcomes the proposal to lower the age at which people can stand for the Presidency. It is a welcome move. However, the Government has missed an opportunity. It has missed a chance to extend democratic rights. The Government has reneged on its commitment to hold a referendum on extending the right to vote to 16 and 17 year olds by the end of 2015. It is said that people campaign in poetry and govern in prose. This is governing by full stops and commas. It is a missed opportunity.

Sinn Féin recently brought forward a Bill to this House to extend voting rights. Fine Gael and the Labour Party did not oppose it, but was that more about public relations? If the Government is genuine about it, it would bring the legislation forward and hold a referendum on the same day as the referendum on this proposal and the proposal on same-sex marriage, which Sinn Féin very much welcomes as a positive step by this Government. There is an opportunity here, for little or no extra cost, to do this. When we brought forward the Bill, even though it was not opposed, youth organisations in the Vote at 16 alliance were disappointed with the Government decision not to hold the referendum. The youth groups see our proposal as the best means to extend democratic rights.

We also support the need to extend voting rights to members of the diaspora and Irish citizens in the Six Counties. This is particularly important in the context of the Presidency. We have a very good President. The last President, Mary McAleese, was a citizen of the Six Counties. She was obviously an Irish citizen but she was resident in the Six Counties. That she would not have had the right to vote for herself shows the need to do this.

Most of what Sinn Féin advocates with regard to the extension of voting rights was also supported by the Constitutional Convention.

We support the view that the extension should be in combination with appropriate electoral and civic education, for example, the proposed new subjects on politics in its broadest sense at leaving certificate level.

From a practical point of view, there is no reason that a referendum on such issues cannot be held on the same day as the referendum to lower the age at which people can stand for the Presidency. Lowering the minimum age for candidates and the voting age could only ensure that political interest is cultivated early. Such civic and social political engagement is an integral part of people's personal and social development. Most Deputies, including the Minister of State, the Acting Chairman and me, probably entered politics young. I did not enter because of civic education, but because of what I had picked up on the streets. Most of us became interested at a young age, probably in our mid to late teens.

Participation in extracurricular activities outside the classroom, for example, youth organisations, sports and debating societies, the right to vote at 16 years of age and the lowering of the age for presidential candidates would serve to empower young people, giving them the right to influence decisions that affect their lives. Since the introduction of a voting age of 16 years in Austria, research on voting behaviour in people aged between 16 and 18 years revealed that they were interested in politics. Two thirds expressed an interest in the election campaign and turnout was comparable with the total national figure. Our Government may be interested to know that those young people did not show signs of voting more radically than the adult population. I understand that some surveys in Ireland may have shown a different result, but reducing voting eligibility to 16 years of age would also serve to kickstart the promotion and awareness of and participation in politics among young people in terms of the issues affecting them. The earlier we can engage young people in democracy and politics, the greater the chance that we will promote and sustain a lifelong interest in and commitment to voting and participating in the democratic process.

There is a significant problem with voter registration. We in the environment committee addressed this matter yesterday. In a survey conducted last year, up to 30% of people aged between 18 and 25 years were not registered to vote. This is partly due to the fact that, at 18 years of age, the majority of people are moving away from their homes and families to college, training or work. They fall through the administrative cracks. However, the majority of 16 year olds are in school or training. As such, it would be easy for local authorities to put them on the register. Nearly all 16 to 18 year olds are in school or training. It would be easy to catch them because we would know where they were, namely, towns and second level colleges. It would be a brilliant opportunity to put them on the register of electors.

If a 16 year old can leave school, seek full-time employment, pay tax and obtain a licence to drive certain vehicles, why can he or she not be entrusted with the civic responsibility of voting? The youth sections of the main political parties allow people to join at 15 or 16 years of age. In my party's case, it is 16 years of age. Therefore, political parties recognise the capacity and importance of people engaging in politics as early as possible. The ideal behind any democratic system of governance is to establish a government that is representative of the electorate. When a large section of the population does not and cannot participate in the democratic process, we cannot claim to represent it fully.

Unlike previous generations, modern young people are much more informed by, for example, civic, social and political education courses in school. Previous generations may only have had access to local and national media, essentially RTE, the Irish Press or, for some, the Irish Independent. Unlike them, young people today have access to a range of media and social media networks, for example, Twitter, Facebook, etc., where they can get information and engage in debate on political issues.

We welcome the Government's announcement of the introduction of a new subject on politics and society at senior cycle level, as it is important that young people be taught about democracy and democratic participation. However, the introduction of the right to vote alongside the lowering of the age of eligibility for presidential candidates would excite young people and incentivise them not only to learn about participation in the electoral system, but to experience it through voting.

I heard a Deputy on the Government benches state that, while supportive of the Bill, he or she would be unlikely to vote for someone aged under 35 years. That is fine, but allowing someone younger than that to stand is important. The involvement of more young people in politics would introduce innovative and fresh ideas into policy making. It would be fair to say that this is a younger Dáil than the previous one. Some new ideas are coming in as a result. Lowering the voting age would also ensure that the issues affecting young people would gain more prominence in the political arena because they would be able to exercise their franchise and influence the policy-making process.

On the issue of consistency with our European counterparts, there is a global momentum towards extending the right to vote to 16 and 17 year olds, for example, for the recent Scottish referendum, where 75% of that age cohort voted. That is amazing. Given this success, the Scottish Government has decided to allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote in Scottish parliamentary elections. This is positive and progressive from a country that is similar to ours in many ways.

There is strong evidence to support the extension of democratic rights to young people. The Government is missing an opportunity. I am not having a go. I say this sincerely. The constitutional convention recognised this issue. Sinn Féin has long advocated such an approach. It would be a positive step forward. While I support the Bill, I call on the Government to revisit the question of extending voting rights to 16 and 17 year olds. I have outlined the evidence of its benefits. Voting rights in presidential elections could also be extended to members of the diaspora and people in the North. Doing so for the latter would be simple. Ms Mary McAleese was nearly as popular on the Shankill Road as she was on the Falls Road. President Higgins is popular in the North. People of both traditions in the North respect the Presidency. We have an opportunity to extend the right to vote on an all-Ireland basis. The Government might not be ready yet to extend full voting rights, but we want to see a united Ireland. Ensuring that people in the North who wish to do so - there is nothing compulsory in this - can vote in presidential elections would be a positive step towards bringing the two parts of the island together.

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