Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Lynn Ruane and her colleagues in her office. I have had the pleasure of working with them as I campaigned on the Bill in recent months. I thank every citizen and resident who has taken the time to engage and get in touch with Senators on all sides. Some of them are present. Their input is welcome and deeply appreciated. I thank the National Youth Council of Ireland, the Irish Second-Level Students Union and all the other organisations that support young people for their work on the issue. The Bill has been on the Order Paper for nine months, since 12 July 2016. We were given notice this morning that Fine Gael had tabled an amendment that, frankly, slobbered all over the Bill. The amendment which was moved during the debate proposes that the Bill "be read a Second Time on 31 December 2017", nine months from now. The Bill has been in the public domain for nine months, but the Government wants another nine to consider it. At no stage during the debate have we heard what the additional nine months will be used for. I assure the Government that we will raise this issue in the corridors every day for the next nine months. I want to know what it has done in the nine months since the Bill was published. Why does it need another nine to review the matter?

The question of the value citizens and residents should place on the manifestos of political parties also arises in this context. I urge Fianna Fáil to stand by its election manifesto and its document, Engaging the Future, which proposes to "reduce the voting age from 18 to 16 for the 2019 Local Elections". Fianna Fáil knows well that by supporting the Fine Gael amendment, it will quash any chance of engagement by 16 and 17 year olds in elections in 2019.