A private members’ Bill put forward by the Social Democrats this week would seek to lower the voting age to 16 for Dáil elections. This would require a constitutional referendum.
The “Forty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Reduction of Voting Age to Sixteen Years) Bill 2025” proposes to amend Article 16 of the Irish Constitution, and is currently making its way through the Oireachtas, where the Government will be forced to consider its merits.
However, it is likely going nowhere, for a variety of significant reasons. Here are just 5.
1. SOCIAL REFERENDUMS SCARE THE GOVERNMENT NOW
Since the landslide defeat of the 2024 Family and Care referendums just last year, the Government are now positively petrified to hold any more referendums for the foreseeable future, believing that, at this point, certain dissatisfied sections of the public would simply use it as an opportunity to give politicians a kicking. Their very recent landslide defeat in the Presidential election – another national electoral event – will not exactly ease those fears.
Originally, a relatively uncontroversial referendum about a European patent court was planned for June 2024. But after the Family and Care defeat, that referendum was postponed to an undefined date and has still not taken place. Some speculated that it may instead be held alongside the Presidential election this year in 2025, but obviously that didn’t transpire, with the vote being further delayed to God-knows-when.
To date, we still have no idea when that referendum might take place. And that’s a fairly inoffensive vote about business law – not even a contentious culture war issue.
By contrast, letting 16-year-olds vote is a significantly more contentious and fraught notion which is likely to come with major pushback from some circles. If they don’t even believe they can get some boring patent court over the line at this juncture, they’re certainly not going to be confident about something as divisive as lowering the voting age.
Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar freely admitted this after leaving office, noting that future referendums on social issues were “less likely” after the Family and Care votes because “governments are just afraid of the hassle and embarrassment of being defeated in a referendum.”
2. IT’S NOT IN THE PROGRAMME FOR GOVERNMENT
The 2020 Programme for Government, which included the Green Party, laid out 3 proposed referendums that the Government intended to hold, or that it would at least consider. They also said they would “examine the Scottish experience of reducing the voting age to 17, in order to draw conclusions.”
By contrast, the 2025 Programme for Government does not mention holding another referendum anywhere, nor does it refer to looking at the voting age at all.
Speaking to Gript earlier this year, one Fianna Fáil TD said: “We’re unlikely to see any referendums on social issues over the lifetime of this Government,” adding that the only referendum which is even being considered is the EU patent court one.
“Other than that, I can’t see anything else coming up on the radar, I doubt they’re going to be doing any bold leaps like they did the last time.”
It’s clearly not a priority for them at this point.
3. THEY’RE INTERNALLY DIVIDED ON THE MATTER
While the Leftwing Opposition are almost uniformly united behind the idea of lowering the voting age, there are a wide-range of views within Government, with the matter proving quite contentious even within Government ranks.
Perspectives range from Minister of State Neale Richmond, who are very supportive of the idea, to one anonymous Minister who told Gript that the Social Democrats’ plan was “a load of bullshit”.
Even at the most senior levels of Government, there doesn’t seem to be much agreement – when Gript asked Taoiseach Micheál Martin what he thought of the SocDems’ suggestions, he said he was very open-minded to it, and that he wouldn’t rule out having such a referendum within the lifetime of this Government.
On the same day, when Simon Harris was asked, he showed significantly more reluctance and caution, saying: “I remain to be convinced at the moment. I’m not sure now is the right time in relation to that. But I’m always happy to debate issues like that.”
Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty has vocally spoken out in favour of the measure, while Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton has said outright she believes the voting age should remain at 18. Other Government figures, like Children’s Minister Norma Foley, have given mixed or ambivalent answers on the issue.
The fact that senior politicians cannot seem to reach a consensus would seem to make it unlikely that they will be able to lend support to such a dramatic legislative change.
4. THEIR SUPPORT AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE IS LOW
This one is self-explanatory. As published by Dr. Theresa Reidy, a political scientist at University College Cork writing for the Irish Examiner after last year’s General Election:
“Theresa Reidy: Young people are turning away from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael”
Reidy notes that:
Naturally enough, you would want to be an absolute lunatic to allow 16-year-olds to vote given this situation. It would just make zero sense and be actual political suicide.
5. THEY DON’T WANT TO GIVE THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS CREDIT
Even if the Government did want to give 16-year-olds the vote – which they do not – they wouldn’t do it by supporting a private members’ bill from an opposition party and give their opponents credit. They’d simply let this particular Bill die, and then put forward legislation of their own so they at least get the benefit of saying “You see that, teenagers? Your good aul’ cool Uncle Government let you vote. Don’t say we never do anything for you.”
In all likelihood, this legislation will wither and die of neglect at Committee stage, rather than giving the Social Democrats the satisfaction of a significant win for a small party.