Fianna Fáil Senator in Wexford and Spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Malcolm Byrne, has said that lowering the voting age to 16 for next year’s Local and European Elections would encourage young people to engage with politics.
He pointed out that in four of the 27 EU Member States, 16 year olds will be able to vote in the European Elections next June (Austria, Belgium, Germany and Malta) while in Greece, those aged 17 will be able to vote.
Senator Byrne was speaking ahead of a Seanad debate on the Electoral (Amendment) (Voting at 16) Bill 2021. The Bill, which would reduce the voting age to 16 for Local and European Elections, was brought forward by Senator Byrne in 2021.
Senator Byrne said: “My hope is for the Bill to continue progressing so the change will come into effect in time for the local and European elections in 2024. I believe the timeline is enough for a lead in to deal with all of the issues and engage in that programme of political education.
“Not only have various countries, also including Brazil, Scotland and Wales, lowered their voting age successfully, but the evidence also shows that if we encourage young people at 16 and 17 to vote, they become habitual voters.
“Young people have lead the charge on a broad range of political issues, from climate change and biodiversity to human rights and they deserve to be involved to a far greater extent in our electoral process.”
