Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

-----that all Senators will act in the public interest this evening, not in their party interest or in the private self interest and that all Senators will acknowledge that only the safe passage of this Bill through the House tonight will ensure that young people have an opportunity to have their say in local elections and European elections in 2019. President Michael D. Higgins has said, "Democracy is always and must always be a work in progress, and how we use the independence we have been gifted will continue to challenge us morally and ethically." These words were spoken by him during a speech in the RDS on 26 March 2016 at a State event for relatives of those who participated in the Easter Rising. I think about the context in which President Higgins spoke of independence in the centenary year. The independence of a nation, the journey into the future is a collective journey, and I am mindful that a recent announcement by the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, to extend Presidential voting rights to the global Irish diaspora and to citizens in the North of Ireland. That is a welcome and a positive development. Ireland extends far beyond the border that divides us and the coastal boundaries of our islands.

Four years after the Constitutional Convention proposed Presidential voting rights, movement and initiative have now followed. Now, more than ever our collective response to a fractured world must be truly inclusive. Ireland as a model republic that facilitates a collective journey in which the Irish at home and away truly identify, partake and take ownership of the narrative, where citizen engagement is cherished and where active citizenship can thrive. That is the essence of republicanism. A positive outcome in that the upcoming referendum on the extension of Presidential voting rights will be transformative. This Electoral (Amendment) (Voting at 16) Bill 2016 will be equally transformative.

If we choose to widen the electoral franchise to include citizens who have reached the age of 16 years our society will reap rewards and profit from the inclusion of our young people in the part of the political process that is most local and most international, elections to local government and to the European Parliament. This is achievable through legislation alone, legislation that will energise and bring dynamism unique to both elections.

Why should we follow the example set by Norway, Austria, Scotland and others? Why should we draw on the experience of our young people in constructing the foundations of that model republic, a model republic as a beacon of hope for people everywhere? In Scotland 75% of 16 and 17 year olds cast their vote when afforded the opportunity. That right is now afforded them in all Scottish elections and enjoys a high level of public support. When addressing the Seanad in 2016, First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, reiterated her support for voting rights for those who have reached 16 and 17 years. The voting age in Norwegian local elections was lowered to 16 years in 2011 as a trial in 21 municipalities. Some 58% of 16 and 17 year olds cast their vote. That number was far higher than the turnout of regular first time voters between the ages of 18 and 21. In 2007, Austria lowered its legal voting age in all elections. Turnout among this age group was over 65% and research into this case study shows a high level of political maturity when casting a vote for the first time.

Another reason to support the Bill today is because the proposal was supported by the Constitutional Convention. This legislation is recognition of the wishes of citizens as expressed and set out through the structures of this State and of Government. A majority of the Constitutional Convention members in March 2013 favoured a change to the Constitution to lower the voting age and, if making such a change, a majority opted for a reduction to 16 years of age. The Constitutional Convention was not established to just explore optional extras. Today is our chance to realise its demand. Let the Seanad be the House that does so.

When addressing the State event for relatives of those who participated in the Easter Rising, President Higgins went on to say, "We must ensure that our journey into the future is a collective one; one in which the homeless, the migrant, the disadvantaged, the marginalised and each and every citizen can find homes, are fellow travellers on our journey which includes all of the multitude of voices that together speak of, and for a new Ireland born out of contemporary imagination and challenges". It is my firm belief that young people must no longer be left out of the national conversation. Young people are at the cutting edge of change; 16 and 17 year olds must be facilitated in channelling that desire for change, in channelling their contemporary imagination. Cannot we Senators do better in facilitating young people in holding the representatives to account or would that be a dangerous move, a bold move, and create problems for the established norms or backfire on some of those involved in the political system? Ideally, yes, because certain things are so much more important than private self interest.

Some 165,000 young people between the ages of 15 and 24 have left this State since Fine Gael took office in February 2011. One in six young people born in this State now live abroad. At 14.5%, youth unemployment between the ages of 15 and 24 remains stubbornly high and has only decreased by 0.8% since I tabled this Bill in June 2016. Youth unemployment is more than double the overall unemployment rate. Activation schemes such as JobBridge and Gateway have fostered attitudes that young people and graduates are a cheap form of labour at a time when young people are vulnerable in work places relative to the arts, to retail, to care and hospitality sectors. Young people are tired of hearing how Ireland can be the best small country for this and that. That is not the language of hope, it is not the language of optimism. We can be world leaders in everything that we do.We can achieve that by drawing on the experiences of the old and young, by doing less and listening more, and drawing on the experiences of the homes and homeless Irish abroad and the old homes of the new Irish. Ireland's culture is changing and we must embrace new realities in our midst.

The children's rights referendum on 10 November 2012 and the establishment of a Department and the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has been widely regarded as the State and society righting the wrongs of its treatment of young people since partition and beyond. It is more than appropriate for us to continue that journey this evening by opening a pathway for young people to express their feelings, emotions, attitudes and point of view on ballot papers in polling stations across the State and, perhaps, most important, to have their values reflected by their Government.