Forty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Reduction of Voting Age to Sixteen Years) Bill 2025: Second Stage [Private Members] Dail Éireann — 2025-11-13 ============================================================ Aidan Farrelly (SD), Kildare North I thank both Ministers of State for their contributions to the debate, which I appreciate. I thank Deputies from all sides of the House for their important and meaningful contributions. There are a couple of things I would like to say in wrapping up. First, it is that my heart is full that we have had a chance to talk about young people for such an expansive amount of time - two hours - and what I certainly perceive to be universal support for the idea and the purpose behind this. Whatever way it manifests itself in the end, we collectively agree that young people at 16 and 17 in this State deserve the right to vote. With the greatest of respect, like the Ministers of State, only last year I knocked on thousands of doors. Not once did I ask people to vote for me on the basis that I would rely on a third body to advise me how to legislate. I asked people to vote for me to become a legislator. What we have before us is a very simple, straightforward piece of legislation. It absolutely has consequences, and I do not undermine that for one second. However, we have seen so many attempts to progress this. There is nothing creative in this, and I really mean that. We have all the research that An Coimisiún Toghcháin will be reviewing. That research is comprehensive and very clear. In the context of the Bill and the attempt by the Social Democrats and I to raise this matter today, it is almost as if we have received the baton from Deputy Byrne and other Members of the Oireachtas, including Deputy Mac Lochlainn, Senator Ruane and many others. All we are trying to do is revive a debate. While it is said that we are going to do this again in 12 months’ time, I do not accept that. I mean that with the greatest of respect. We do not need An Coimisiún Toghcháin to tell us how to legislate. There is nothing creative in this. The UK and 15 other countries around the world are doing it. Young people's voices deserve to be heard. Reuben Murray, who has been name-checked already, is in the Gallery. Members might have heard him on “Drivetime” this week. He spoke eloquently and respectfully, but, my God, he spoke with a competency that we would all be proud of. People like him deserve to vote. Young people in this country of 16 and 17 years of age deserve to vote. We, as legislators, should come together. I urge the Government, with all sincerity, to please withdraw the amendment. It has been suggested that we do what we are suggesting in the 12 months until the Bill is read again. Let us do that on Committee Stage. Nothing is going to change dramatically. I urge the Minister of State to let us take this conversation to the next step as a show of faith in the young people of Ireland and to show we are taking this seriously and mean what we say when we say we trust and value them. I reiterate my thanks to my friends in the Social Democrats for allowing me the time to introduce this Bill and to everybody across the House for thinking about what they would say and saying it so eloquently and respectfully. I also thank the young people and youth workers in the Visitors Gallery and those around this country who devote their lives to empowering, respecting, valuing and trusting the young people of this State. This Bill is a very natural next step. I look forward to hearing from the Minister of State. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-11-13/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:06+00:00 Sitting date: 2025-11-13