Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the amendment from Senator Paul Gavan, which I second. I am also proud to co-sign the Bill. I rise to discuss another Bill dealing with people who are 16. On 29 March we initiated a Second Stage debate on the Electoral (Amendment) (Voting at 16) Bill 2016. The Government made a decision that week to delay the Bill so a Second Reading would take place in 2018. The Minister of State, Deputy English, was in the Chamber that day and he explained that although the Minister, Deputy Coveney, made it clear he is not against the Bill, he asked for more time to debate it thoroughly. The Bill was ready for discussion and debate. Since that debate I wrote to the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Minister of State, Deputy English, who were responsible for the issue at the time. I have also written to the incoming Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, to examine how we can work together to inform the Seanad on the issue in that timeframe and work with the Department to allay any concerns about the legislation. I have only received acknowledgement and a promise to respond to the letter but I have seen no further response. The comments of the Minister of State, Deputy English, were reasonable but my concern is the Bill will return in January 2018 with little or no debate having happened or any attempt to inform the House on what has taken place. I ask the Leader for an update on what we can do before January 2018 to inform all involved on the detail of the Bill.