Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am an advocate for having the vote at 16. I am on the record as saying that. The Minister of State is on the record as having said that. Having the vote at 16 years old has been a long-term Green Party policy. We have probably been on the record for a couple of decades in relation to this issue. We have members who are 16. They write policies for us, yet they cannot even get to vote for us.

I am passionate about the issue. I feel that many people who are elected do not understand politics, quite frankly. They do not understand the long-term implication of the job we are doing. Young people do understand that, certainly the young people I meet. Senator Ruane mentioned Flossie Donnelly. She was outside Leinster House last Friday, as indeed she is on lots of Fridays. There was another group of activists there for Fridays for Future. I was pleased to accept some of their artwork on behalf of the Government. They are really anxious that change will happen. They are doing their bit. Yet, they are not allowed to vote. That is a real shame.

When it comes to climate and biodiversity, we should always turn to young people. When I go to do the doors, I meet older people who say to me, "My grandchildren are telling me to vote for those who care about climate". Why is this the case? It is because young people are most impacted by the climate and the biodiversity crisis. It is a matter of their livelihoods, their health and their wellbeing. This is not the case for people who are in their 90s.I am not advocating for ending the vote for people in their 90s, but I certainly think that if there is an argument to be made for people voting in their 90s when they do not have that much time left to enjoy the fruits of that vote, there is certainly an argument to be made for young people who can see through policies. Senator Malcolm Byrne made the point about people’s manifestos. Much more scrutiny needs to be done of people’s manifestos when it comes to climate, absolutely, but on a whole range of issues as well. Are politicians that one is voting for really thinking in the long term or are they thinking election cycle to election cycle? It is surprisingly probably to many people how few politicians think about that long term.

I note that all of these amendments use the term “examine the age”. I think the Minister of State already said that, but it is important to say it on the record here. A commitment around this issue of lowering the voting age is in the programme for Government. It is also the Minister of State's commitment, as he said that is what the commission will be tasked with doing soon and in the lifetime of this Government. Having been a lawyer in a previous lifetime as well as being a legislator now, legislation can change just as easily if not easier than the work of commissions and in regulations as well. It is very important to say that actually the best place for this is a commission. I know there are politicians from political parties who do not agree with all of the Senators who are here at the moment. Therefore, let us put it into a commission to do the proper work and then we will drive it over the line. I am determined that we have to see that over the line.

When it comes to politics, relevance is everything. If one is teaching somebody in school about politics and one is saying that person cannot vote for many more years, it does not feel relevant. Absolutely, politics with a small “p” is always relevant because one is making those decisions day to day about what to do in one's community. Politics with a big “P” - when I say with a big “P” I am not saying one is better than the other, I am just referring to politics in the formal sense of voting – has to be relevant as well and not in some far distant future. I remember canvassing and somebody in their 30s said they were not going to vote and they never vote. I went to another door where there was somebody who was 17 and would have turned 18 shortly after the election and that person was desperate to vote. I thought, “God, if only they could switch and one could give their ballot paper to the other”. However, I am not advocating that. It just shows the hunger in young people. They know the crises we have in terms of social justice and human rights abuses and they think more globally than people give them credit for.

CSPE was mentioned. It needs to be taken much more seriously. It needs to be examinable, but it also needs proper recognition by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA. That is an important point and it has to go hand in hand. Absolutely, those who are older are no more educated when it comes to politics than those who are in school. That is not to say that is a good thing. It is to say it needs to change across the board and there needs to public awareness across the board in how politics works. The idea that one has an idea and one just makes it a reality in politics is not the case. All of us who are elected know that. It takes much policy work to get it to that point. It takes the manifestos and years of the policy direction. I am supportive, obviously, of the voting age being lowered. Am I supportive of it being examined in order for it then to be lowered? Yes. Whether it is in a Bill or through a commitment, one way or another I want it to happen.

I will leave it there because there are so many other Senators wanting to come in. So many people come to me and whether they are older or younger, their main question is, “How can we do this thing that we want to do?” One way is that one votes for the people who one thinks care about it. However, if one cannot vote for the people who one thinks care about it, that is another thing off the list because they cannot do that bit. Young people cannot run for election or do all of the things at one's fingertips. Young people are doing it the best and only way that they can and that is by activism. While certainly many politicians come from activism – I would say that everyone in our party has come from an activist or community background – and they know it takes both activism and politics. One should not have to say, “You do the activism bit and we will do the politics bit". Everybody should be able to do both.