Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is great to have a good debate and we are all making sure that 16 year olds and 17 year olds get to vote. It is time for the much-promised referendum on reducing the voting age to 16 or 17. We must look at the voting age in other countries. In Austria, only 16 year olds who are working can vote and in 2015, 16 and 17 year olds in Scotland were granted the vote for local and Scottish elections. They had been allowed to vote in the previous year's referendum on independence, with a claimed turnout of at least 75%.

In many South American countries voting reforms were taken in tandem with education reforms. We must start with education and give the power of knowledge to our young people so that, one day, they might use it. We need to introduce political studies into primary schools and offer it as an exam subject in the secondary curriculum. I was delighted to hear of two primary schools in my constituency, Bennekerry national school and the Educate Together school, holding their inaugural student council meetings last week with students, aged between eight and 13 years old, elected by their peers. I am told that some of them could be budding politicians.

Our 16 year olds and 17 year olds are the future and Sinn Féin needs to realise that we all know how capable they are of voting.We all have a different point of view, but we all know - and this has to be clarified in particular for Sinn Féin - that young people, 16 and 17 year olds, are capable to vote. This is why we say that our young people need to be encouraged, we need to help them and make sure we have conversations, and we need to educate them.

I am aware there has been some disappointment, which I can understand, but perhaps the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan will confirm a point for me. A referendum is supposed to be in line for next May; a referendum for young people of that age group of 16 and 17 to vote. Is this referendum going to happen? I guarantee that Fianna Fáil and I will knock on doors about this issue to make sure these young people will get the vote. We will then definitely look at local elections and European elections. The young people today deserve to vote in local, general and European elections. If Sinn Féin was of the same mind it would be making sure, from today, that the referendum is held next year. We in Fianna Fáil will work to make sure there is a referendum next year and that the young people of Ireland who are our future, our young budding Presidents, our young Taoisigh and our future Ministers will get the choice and they will be able to vote in the three elections.