Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and I agree with his statement that the Bill takes a pragmatic approach. My comments concern participation in elections and I will let my colleague, Senator Fiach Mac Conghail, speak to the issues around the amendment we have put forward as a group. When the Bill was being drafted, was any consideration given to the Constitutional Convention and its results? It is a representative sample of Irish society drawn from 66 citizens and 33 parliamentarians who voted on whether to lower the voting age. I appreciate the Government has decided to refer the matter to a constitutional referendum but, as was discussed at the Constitutional Convention, there is no constitutional bar with regard to local and European elections. Countries like Austria have had trials of lowering the voting age at local and European elections to see if it would work, and they are expanding the concept.

The Constitutional Convention agreed that we should reduce the voting age, with the majority indicating it should be reduced to 16. On 26 March the first report of the Constitutional Convention was laid in the Oireachtas Library, with a recommendation that the voting age for all Irish citizens in elections should be lowered to 16 from the current age of 18.

Why? The Minister can do so using similar legislation. This is the perfect type of legislation to include such a provision, and I ask him to consider doing so.

I welcome the changes that the Minister will make to the special voters' list. I view the list from a personal point of view because it deals with persons who reside in hospitals, nursing homes or similar institutions who have physical disabilities or illnesses that prevent them from going to the polling station. They can vote at their hospitals or nursing homes if they are on the special voters' list. Obviously, a person can register each year on 25 November, but one cannot tell if one is going to be in hospital during the year ahead. The Minister has accepted that the provision has been criticised and is trying to make some changes.

I wish to refer to the two-day period. My father was in the Royal Hospital, Donnybrook, receiving stroke care during the children's referendum. As one can imagine, he was particularly keen to vote in the referendum, having instilled the importance of voting in me. I could not believe the amount of bureaucracy that had to be gone through in two days, even though everybody was helpful and co-operative. The hospital is in a different Dublin constituency from his usual one so I had to approach a different authority. Hospitals are not always in one's constituency, which is a matter that must be examined for the special voters' list. Very often - it is happening more and more in Ireland - a person may be in a hospital that is not in their constituency and, therefore, is not used to dealing with the local authority.

The process involves filling out a form and supplying a medical certificate, and I understand the inclusion of the latter. It was just a coincidence that led me to experience the process, because I happened to be visiting my father when he voted. The returning officer and a member of the Garda Síochána went to his hospital bed in order for him to vote. Why was a medical certificate necessary? Was it to prove that he was going to be in that hospital bed at that time? My father was in the rehabilitation wing but young people and older people avail of the rehabilitation services at the hospital. The returning officer informed me that the Royal Hospital in Donnybrook is a polling station, so it was not a big inconvenience to facilitate my father. I was disappointed to learn that my father was the only person there who voted in the children's referendum, which made me think there was a participation issue.

My third question is on referendums. Logically, I understand what the Minister said about An Post making copies of referendum Bills available and the availability of the Internet. Perhaps he could advise us about requests made during the last few referendums, either the children's referendum or the various EU treaty referendums. How many requests were made to post offices for copies of the Bill? I will be more comfortable supporting the legislation when I know the figures. That is all I wish to say, because my colleague, Senator Fiach Mac Conghail, will speak on postal voting.