An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-10
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Joanne Collins (SF), Agricultural Panel

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to take No. 12 before No. 1. No. 12 is the Electoral (Amendment) (Voting Age) Bill 2026, which is straightforward legislation that seeks to reduce the voting age from 18 to 16 for local and European elections. There has been a debate going on for years about those aged 16 and 17 who contribute to our society and pay tax when they are out working, whether they start in transition year, go into apprenticeships or work on family farms. If they are paying taxes and contributing to our society should they not have a choice in who represents them? Should they not have a vote for their representatives on the ground whom they can contact? Should they not have a say on who represents them?
By extending the voting age to those aged 16 and 17, we would not simply be giving young people a vote but we would also be encouraging candidates for political parties to engage with them, listen to their concerns and address the issues they face, whether on education, access to apprenticeships, youth services or public transport. There are so many issues. Sometimes those starting college are aged 16 or 17, and they feel they do not have the same rights because they do not have the vote and they do not have a say in who is representing them. In a time when democracy is so important in this country, it would bring in this younger cohort to show them what democracy is all about and bring into our schools education to show them how important it is to be involved in democracy in this country.
We bring up many issues in this House and the other House every day. There is a bit of a disconnect when it comes to our youth as they do not always connect one with the other and they do not engage. My colleague spoke about what is happening in Belfast. If people knew how to engage with their representatives we might not have this level of what sometimes happens on the streets in this country. A lot of the time we see on the streets much younger people who have not been involved and have not had an education on how to understand how the political system works, how it can work and how we can strengthen it and bring about the changes needed for security and safety. It is about engaging with young people. They contribute to our society so why not give them the chance to vote and have a say in who represents them?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-10