Tairgim:
Go gceadófar go dtabharfar isteach Bille dá ngairtear Acht chun an Bunreacht a leasú.
I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Constitution.
This Bill is the Forty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Reduction of Voting Age to Sixteen Years) Bill 2025. I take the opportunity to thank the OPLA and the Bills Office for their support in preparing this Bill for introduction. I commend the work of Senator Lynn Ruane, former Senator Fintan Warfield, Deputy Malcolm Byrne, Deputy Erin McGreehan, Senator Mary Fitzpatrick, and most recently, former Deputy Thomas Pringle, who have brought similar Bills forward.
This is the first piece of legislation I have laid before the Oireachtas as a TD and one of inherent importance to me as a father, a youth worker and a citizen of Ireland. I will take the opportunity to thank those who came from the National Youth Council of Ireland today to speak in support of the Bill. Notably, I pay tribute to Ms Mary Cunningham, who has in her role as CEO, been a leader in promoting young people's voices, rights and participation for many years. She retires later this year.
In deciding the appropriate age to vote, it is an issue of fairness, not competence; of equality, not maturity. At 16 years of age, one can work 40 hours per week and pay associated taxes, hold a dog licence and consent to medical treatment. At 17 years of age, one can legally drive an eight-seater car. People aged 16 and 17 are as civically informed as their peers aged 18-plus but are unjustly restricted when it comes to democratic participation.
If someone can work full-time and pay taxes, it is only fair to afford that person the formal opportunity to influence how these taxes are spent locally and nationally.
Like 35% to 40% of people aged 18-plus who choose not to vote, many aged 16 and 17, if afforded the opportunity, will also choose not to. I am asking us today to focus on who will - the many thousands who care about their communities and their society and who are as passionate about politics, public administration and civic duty as their peers aged 18-plus.
Other countries like Austria, Argentina, some states in Germany, Brazil, Scotland, Wales and Greece have lowered their voting age from 18. Just recently, the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer restated his Government's ambition to legislate for 16- and 17-year-olds to be able to vote. In Ireland, we know that one of the recommendations from the Convention on the Constitution back in 2014 was lowering the voting age to 16.
As a youth worker, I have run many mock elections over the years encouraging young people to participate informally when they could not do so formally. Whether it was a referendum or a local or general election, the vote was nearly always mirrored in their local ballot box or nationally.
Today is a landmark day that provides us, the Thirty-fourth Dáil, with an opportunity to start the process of achieving something momentous. The reduction of voting age to 16 years Bill 2025 is an opportunity to tell the 16- and 17-year-olds of Ireland that we value them and their voice, that we trust them and their power, and that we need them and their participation.