Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is what is happening. I welcome the Minister's engagement on the vote at 16. In terms of timelines that is urgent, because we have elections coming in May 2024. As my colleagues have mentioned, this is not just something that has been proven to work. The European Parliament has asked countries to ensure that 16-year-olds can have a say. I was part of the future of Europe process where the mandate again came from citizens across Europe to say they want younger people to have the vote so they can shape our European institutions. That is a hard deadline for next May. There is 31 July and May of next year and both of those issues need to be addressed.I welcome the Minister of State's engagement around the potential but people, especially students and other people who are living in other parts of the country, are travelling long distances from their polling stations.

In respect of political purposes, we would, of course, be very happy to engage with others around how we nuance that point. To clarify, however, we are clear that we are keeping the restrictions that are there for electoral and referendum activities. We absolutely agree with the point that we must ensure we do not have undue interference on those matters. This is about the normal advocacy work of civil society in between times. I regret that the Minister of State is not able to support the Bill at this time.