Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is not that long ago since the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 years. It was in 1973 after a referendum was conducted in 1972. The proposal was passed by over 300,000 votes. In May 2015, a proposal was put, by way of referendum, to reduce the age of persons deemed eligible to stand for a presidential election from 35 to 21 years of age. The proposal was overwhelmingly defeated by a vote of almost three to one. I am not at all convinced that if we put this current proposal to the people, by way of referendum, that it would be carried. I agree with what my colleague, Senator Murnane O'Connor, said that we need to educate the people positively towards the reasoning behind affording 16 year olds an opportunity vote.