Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking this issue, which I know he feels strongly about. In 2013, the constitutional convention recommended that we reduce the voting age to 16. The programme for Government negotiated among our three parties had a very clear commitment around ways in which we can look at enhancing the role of young people in society and how we can support youth participation. One of the specific commitments was that we would look at learning from the Scottish experience where the voting age has been reduced. It was reduced in 2014 for the Scottish independence referendum but we have seen it maintained for local and Scottish parliamentary elections, including the recent elections. It was also extended for the Senedd elections in Wales, which took place earlier this month. The Isle of Man, which was the first territory in the world to extend the right to vote to women in 1881, has allowed those aged 16 to vote since 2006. The case of Austria is often cited. It was introduced there for local elections from 2000 and extended to general and other elections from 2007. Malta has reduced the voting age to 16 and the age is the same in Estonia and a number of German Länder. The voting age in Greece is 17. The Belgian Government has now said that it is going to extend the right to vote to 16 and 17-year-olds for its local and European elections from 2024. The European Parliament and the Council of Europe have recommended that we look at voting at 16.

Over the course of the pandemic, we have seen the contribution young people have made to Irish society in so many ways. In particular, I am thinking of the role of the Irish Second–Level Students' Union but it also relates to so many other young people. We had a very good debate in this House last week about the role that young people have played.

It is not the silver bullet. Other things need to happen as well. We need a very strong programme of political education right through our education system and beyond. We need to look at ways in which we can resource Comhairle na nÓg, youth organisations and volunteers who are engaging with young people, but we must be serious about looking at ways of allowing young people to participate in that most important right, which is the right to vote.

There are fears that if we extend the right to vote to those aged 16 and 17, they will vote in a particular direction and for all sorts of crazy candidates. The evidence is that this is not the case. The evidence from Austria, where it has been in place for over a decade and a half, is that the younger generations tend to follow the broad patterns of other generations except that the issues are different. There is often a lot more focus on issues that are of direct concern to young people and the political system and political parties adapt in due course.

I have a Bill before this House calling for the change to be introduced for the local and European elections in 2024. It provides enough time for a lead in to deal with all of the issues and engage in that programme of political education. The Government is committed to the introduction of a much-needed electoral commission, which is being championed by the Minister of State, but as part of that, I would love to hear him give a commitment in this House that we would move towards a situation where those aged 16 and 17 would have the right to vote in the local and European elections in 2024 because it only requires legislative change.