Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate all those who took part in the recent by-elections, those who were successful and unsuccessful. It takes courage to put oneself out in any election but particularly in a by-election. To candidates of all groups, parties and none, I send congratulations for engaging in the process.Leading on from that, I thank and congratulate those who were successful. It is a great honour and privilege for those Members to come to Leinster House today and I wish them well and every happiness in their work.

The real thing I want to ask about is the electoral commission. The Leader is aware that the programme for a partnership Government mentions it. This is very important legislation that needs to be enacted. There are things that could happen in the meantime, in particular with regard to the Standards In Public Office Commission, SIPO, which called for an electoral commission and legislation to deal with digital political campaigns and finance from outside this State and its impact on elections. According to SIPO, the unregulated nature of social media campaigns "allows for foreign actors to influence Irish elections and referendums, with potentially significant consequences". These actors do not even have to be foreign. We know what is happening in here in terms of social media. The Leader has spoken about it. There are a significant amount of things happening in or around this area that influence the outcome of elections. It is important that we have an electoral commission. I spoke to a number of people who were involved in the by-elections who told me that the register is out of date by about 20 years. A man in Wexford told me that he was told on one doorstop that the only two people entered on the register for that house had been dead for 15 years so we clearly have a lot of work to do with regard to cleaning up the register.

We also have a lot of work to do in terms of engaging with, educating, encouraging and supporting people to engage in the political process. This is a challenge for everyone in politics. How can we get young and old people - all people - to engage in this process and make them feel that the question of who they put into Parliament is relevant to their lives? It is important for us to have an independent electoral commission regardless of what type of election is involved. I know the Government has committed to it and I also know that time is running out. I would like something like a memorandum or update on where we with regard to this legislation because it is important. I do not think anyone in either House disputes the need for an independent electoral commission because it is critically important.

It is time for us to have a debate again about how we can engage with young people. I have always been an advocate of allowing 16 year olds to vote in elections. They are much more sophisticated than we were at that age. They have much more access to information. It is not always accurate information but it is information. I read some commentary in the press today regarding allowing 16 year olds to register in order that they are registered on the system. I think that is good but it is important that we revisit the question of giving them the vote. Traditionally, Fine Gael led in this area. Many years ago, the Young Fine Gael organisation was a great advocate for it. Some of these people are now Members of the Seanad and Dáil. They led the way in terms of advocating for young people to engage in the political process. It is important so I would like a debate at some point on how we can get 16 year olds in. My focus today is on whether we can start and get this independent electoral commission up and running because it will serve democracy, the parliamentary process and the body politic well and is something with which we need to push ahead.