Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the chance to make a few comments on the Bill. I am conscious that Senator Fintan Warfield will wrap up the debate. We will split the remaining time between us as best we can. Perhaps we might take four or five minutes each.

I am pleased to have an opportunity to participate in the Second Stage debate on the Electoral (Amendment) (Voting at 16) Bill 2016 on behalf of the Government. The purpose of the Bill is to reduce to 16 years the age at which people are entitled to vote in local government and European Parliament elections. While this is a relatively short Bill, a proposal to reduce the voting age for any election is of fundamental importance to any modern representative democracy. With this in mind, I welcome the opportunity provided to hear the views of the House on the matter. The Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, has asked us to take time out to hear more views on it. In the months ahead we will take the time to have this conversation and debate and make a genuine attempt to act on the views we will hear.

As a Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government and a member of Fine Gael, I am totally in favour of the principle of extending the vote to 16 and 17 year olds. I will explain why I think it is right to do so. I entered politics at quite a young age. Like Senator Fintan Warfield, I became a member of my local council at the age of 20 years. I was first elected to the Dáil at the age of 24 years. I must have been part of the crèche. I understand young people can make a major contribution to politics. All of the young people who are watching us and many others want to have their say in the polling booth because they have a contribution to make and we have to find mechanisms to make that possible. It is important to give young people an opportunity to have their say. I agree with Senator Lynn Ruane that if we give people a chance to vote at a younger age, they might become involved in politics and stay involved in decision-making. People generally are living at their home address as part of their community at the age of 16 years. This means that they will be around to vote in a couple of elections before leaving school to go to college, travel the world or find a job. People who get into the habit of voting at a younger age like 16 or 17 years might stay with the habit. I have a major problem with people of all ages - 20 or 30, 50 or 60, or 80 or 90 years - who do not take the time to vote. Anything we can do collectively to increase the number of people who vote and participate is to be encouraged. I understand we have to talk through and work on practical issues around the Bill and this process.

The Minister has made it clear that he is not against the Bill, but he has asked for more time to debate it thoroughly. It is important for those who are watching the debate to understand that it is not the case that someone will not be listened to just because he or she has entered politics at a young age. When I entered politics at the age of 20 or 21 years, I was convinced that no one would listen to me. I was wrong. When I became a member of my local council, politicians of all ages and from all parties were prepared to listen to me, even though I was just 20 years old. When I was elected to the Dáil as a 24 year old, Ministers and Tánaistí - one of them is present as a Senator - were prepared to debate with me and allow me to have my say. It must be understood it is wrong to suggest politicians are not interested in young people's views, do not want to hear from them or are afraid of them. I think we all have a desire to bring the proposal to extend voting rights through the system and the process. The Minister has made it clear that there should also be a wider debate about extending voting rights, not just for one or two elections but across the board. That is a conversation we want to have and the Minister wants to facilitate it. I ask the House to provide time for such a conversation before the Bill is pressed or ended.

I take issue with those Senators who have claimed that my party is afraid of young people having the vote. It has been suggested that because of the decisions we have made in government, we have something to be afraid of or concerned about. I remind some of the Sinn Féin Senators of the most common conversation I had on the doorsteps with the parents of young people during the 2011 general election campaign. Every day of the campaign the parents of children aged eight, nine or ten years or school students aged 15, 16, 17 and 18 told me they thought the country was bunched. They did not see any future for young people. The parents of children in primary or secondary school or college at the time said they did not believe their children had a future in Ireland. That was the conversation in 2011. It is now over. We did not have that conversation during last year's election. We debated social problems in areas such as water provision, health and education. We had a different set of discussions about a different set of problems. The conversation about there being no hope is over. People now believe the country has a future and young people of Senator Fintan Warfield's age do have a future.

I ask Sinn Féin Members not to suggest those of us in Fine Gael who were involved in the last Government have anything to fear from young people in having a say. We have nothing to fear. We are proud of our record in restoring the country to give people of all ages a future. I understand 16 year olds are very intelligent and have a great deal to contribute. I know that they will make wise decisions when they vote. Therefore, I do not need to be lectured or told that my party is afraid of allowing them to vote. We are not. We will work with this legislation, where possible, as the debate evolves in the months ahead. The Minister has made it clear that he wants to do this for genuine and the right reasons. When we had the same conversation about extending the vote for presidential elections, he asked this House for more time to consider the matter and make proposals. That is what he did and he has brought forward proposals. He delivers on what he says.