Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I fully understand the Senator's frustration at not being able to get the relevant Minister. She can take it from me as someone who always comes into the Seanad when I am asked to do so that I would appreciate it as well if the other Ministers came in and took their own slot. It would be a little less work for me as, God knows, I have enough to do.

I am not certain that I will read out the official reply even though Senator Zappone is welcome to take a copy of it. It is virtually the same information as that outlined in her contribution.

It strikes me that the Scottish experience was about something about which everyone in Scotland had an opinion. I am not certain that everyone in Ireland has an opinion on the type of referenda we have had or will have in the future. I expect the campaign to be very polarised. I do not think everyone will be fully in agreement with the proposal and therefore I am not certain we will ever achieve the type of participation witnessed in Scotland on the fundamental future of the country. If we had a referendum of that nature in this country, one would see as great a participation rate.

Young people are very busy. Depending on the time of the year they often have exams or they are going on holidays or abroad to work for the summer. It is therefore very difficult to engage them because of how busy they are. We do not often see them in that light but they are very busy people. One would imagine from the public expressions of engagement in recent months that there is significant engagement by young people with politics, but I am not certain that it is the type of engagement Senator Zappone and I would like in terms of voting and registering to vote. What we see on the streets is a different type of engagement. I am not certain whether the constitutional provisions relating to voting are embedded in that type of engagement. I do not say whether it is right or wrong but it is not an indicator of people's engagement in politics.

I will bring Senator Zappone's remarks to the attention of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when I see him this afternoon. Senator Zappone is correct; we must be far more imaginative. We must persuade people that this is their democracy, their Republic and that it is their responsibility for themselves, not necessarily as we used to think for one's neighbour or for the good of the rest of the humanity. We must persuade young people that voting is an issue that relates to their personal freedom and their rights, responsibilities and benefits within the democratic process.

I am sure there are people who are sufficiently talented to put an information process in place that would do all of that, but it is incumbent on those of us who will go from door to door to find out whether people are registered and, if they are not, to encourage them to do so. It is significant that we are talking about three working weeks, if one takes out Saturdays and Sundays from the 15-day period, in which people can get on the supplementary register. It is a significant period which will be frenetic and in which there will be much talk about the upcoming referenda. It is up to people to use their ability to find a process agreeable to everyone and it should be possible for us to do that.