Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----but come on. In terms of young people being uninformed, engaged or not engaged, she has suggested that we should talk to teachers, the mammies and the daddies to raise awareness. I presume that when we are finished doing that she hopes we will have a tea party and that we will all sit down to chat a little bit more. For God's sake, we are talking about people who are 16 years of age. If we engage them in politics at 16 years of age then we will have them for life. Why does the Senator think banks go out of their way to set up school banks? They do so because they know that if a child opens a bank account with them then he or she will be loyal and remain a customer for the rest of his or her life.

I am sure that Members who have email addresses will have received numerous emails from youth organisations and individual young people asking for support. The Senator has suggested a committee be set up to discuss this matter. We all know what happens when a committee discusses an issue. The committee produces a camel rather than a horse so a committee would not work.

There is no need for Fianna Fáil to fear the Bill. All Fianna Fáil needs to do is recruit young people of 16 years of age and over, thus providing a future for the party. The same applies to Fine Gael and any other party that wants young people. I can assure Senators that young people want to engage in politics.

Senator Murnane O'Connor is right in what she said about the turnout for elections. I believe the turnout is low because old people like me gave up voting years ago.