Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the visitors to the Gallery. Needless to say, it is not fashionable, and for good reason, to quote Enoch Powell in these Houses. In fact, it is a long time since I heard Enoch Powell quoted. I am a bit of a history buff and I suspect many Members enjoy looking at various famous speeches on YouTube when they have nothing better to do in the evenings and have written to all of their constituents and delivered on all of the promises. We all remember the infamous "Rivers of Blood" speech. Let there be no misunderstanding; it was an infamous speech. When he used that phrase, "We must be mad, literally mad", it occurred to me that the phrase would not be out of place in describing the proposal that is before us this evening.

Is that because I disrespect the ability of young people to think seriously about the great problems of our time? Far from it. I would like to think that I have done as much as anybody else in these Houses to get young people thinking and talking about the importance of our democracy and political process. I will take this opportunity to mention that we are in the second year of our Oireachtas essay competition, Aiste an Oireachtais, which is aimed at those in fifth and sixth year in senior cycle of the leaving certificate and A-level North of the Border. It is a 32-county bilingual competition and there is €6,000 in prizes. That is all part of encouraging young people to continue to reflect on the importance of our democracy. This year's theme is "Parliamentary Politics Matters for Peace or "An Pholaitíocht Phairliminteach agus an tSíocháin". If any of our guests is in fifth or sixth year or doing A-levels, or knows somebody who is, I encourage them to register on the website Oireachtasessay.iebefore the deadline of 17 November and submit essays before 24 November. It would be lovely to welcome winners here next spring to the awards ceremony as we did this year.

The point I am making is that it is extremely important that we invite our future leaders into their role of leadership thinking and talking about our democracy and important issues like peace, the common good and where they fit into that. Of course, not everybody is called to being elected, but there are many other ways to do politics other than stand for election that are just as important and all play a role.

In addition to being an invitation to the next generation of leaders to assert themselves and come forward with ideas, it is also a challenge to people, that does not just lie with the younger generation, to be reflective. It is a challenge to not just communicate ideas, as so many do on the Joe Duffy show and various other fora every day, but rather to come from a reflective place having thought through issues, considered the other person or party's point of view and having reflected on how one deals with that. I do not deny for one moment that there are many young people who have acquired and are acquiring skills in that area. However, it is a process that takes time.

We should not be afraid to say that there is a time in all of our lives for maturing. Indeed, it is debatable whether the age of 18 is too soon to be letting anybody vote. When we discuss other issues, we consider what science tells us about the development of the frontal lobe. We are told it is not fully developed in women under the age of 25. Lest the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach think I am being sexist, some studies suggest it is not until the age of 30 for men. What is the point?