Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)

First, I wish to commend my colleague, Dr. Aidan Farrelly, on his work on this Bill. For the benefit of those people in the Chamber who do not know, Deputy Farrelly is not just a TD and spokesperson for young people but he is also an expert in the area of youth work. His PhD work was about youth work, so it can safely be said of Deputy Farrelly that he is extremely well placed to bring this Bill forward, having worked as a youth worker and achieved the highest level of education in this area.

I was also a youth worker and researcher in this area and I say that because it is important to know that Bills like this are coming from research, evidence and lived experience. As far back as 2004, I was a board member of the National Youth Council, which is very welcome here again today. I remember we were on Grafton Street giving out information leaflets to passers by on the merits of lowering the voting age. I remember that year clearly because I have a photo - a printed-out photo because I am quite old - of my daughter, who was in a buggy. She is 21 now.

This debate has sparked comments that 16- and 17-year-olds are too young to have a clue about voting. I beg to differ, and I will give the House some examples as to why I do not think this is true. I will say, as an aside, that many adults also do not have a clue how to vote or register to vote and have never voted, so this is not an age thing. It is an education and civic society matter.

When I was a candidate in the local and general elections in 2024, I had many encounters with young people asking me a wide variety of questions, be that at the door or on the road and, indeed, I was sent surveys. I have an example from a primary school, whose students would not be able to vote because they would not have reached the age of 16 but it shows how well our education system is doing to engage young people in the political system. I was sent a survey by St. Brigid's Primary School, the Coombe, and they asked me loads of questions about the local area and how I would improve it if I was elected. They asked me to explain my values and when they got the information from all the candidates, they collated it and their teacher helped them to have an election. They had an election and I know the outcome but I am not going to say what it was. They were already engaged in primary school.

When I was a candidate at that time, I also visited the Solas Project, which is a youth service in Dublin 8 that works with five- to 24-year-olds. They asked candidates to give them a two-minute pitch and then they asked us questions. The questions were really hard and very thorough and they also got to ask us follow-on questions. They did this, with potential politicians and people who were already politicians, in a respectful, intelligent and excellent way. When I became a Dublin city councillor, I had a visit from St. Kilian's German School in Clonskeagh and they gave me a grilling for almost three hours on topics I had not even thought about. They had ideas and notions I had never thought about and they helped me realise I had a lot more thinking to do as a city councillor and now as a TD. They knew their stuff and on top of knowing their stuff, they knew how to communicate it as well.

The world will not fall in if 16- and 17-year-olds are given the right to vote. As our briefing document states, it already happens in several other countries. In Argentina and Austria, they have the right to vote in all elections. In Germany, they have the right to vote in European elections and some state elections. What we know is that people who are interested in voting will vote and those who are not interested in voting will not vote and age is not a factor in this.

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