A Private Members’ Bill by the Social Democrats was put forward in the Dáil on Thursday evening whether a referendum should be held to reduce the voting age to 16, and Government sources seem divided on the matter, with one Senior Government Minister describing the suggestion as “a load of bullshit”.
The Forty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Reduction of Voting Age to Sixteen Years) Bill 2025 seeks to amend Article 16 of the Constitution, replacing the current voting age of 18 with 16 for Dáil elections.
Ahead of the debate yesterday, Gript asked one senior cabinet Minister – who asked to remain anonymous – what he thought of the proposal.
“What a load of bullshit,” they replied, adding that people want politicians to instead “focus on things that matter to people and improve quality of life.”
By contrast, Fine Gael Minister of State Neale Richmond told Gript that he was personally supportive of such a measure.
“Personally, it is a proposal that I’m quite keen on and I know previous Governments have agreed to look at it,” he said.
“I like the idea of habit forming – if you vote once you’re likely to keep voting, so the idea of being able to register people to vote through school and encourage interest in civic debate I think is a good one.
“However, I know there’s a good bit of opposition to it and it needs to be teased out. We should keep an open mind on it. We do need to engage young people – all people – more in the democratic process.”
Other Government figures have expressed a range of views on the idea of lowering the voting age.
In an exchange with Gript earlier this year, Taoiseach Micheál Martin stated that he “wouldn’t rule anything out” when questioned about the possibility of holding a referendum to lower the voting age to 16 within the Government’s current term. In contrast, Tánaiste Simon Harris commented that he was “not sure now is the right time” to move forward with the proposal.
Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty has vocally supported the idea, while Children and Youth Minister Norma Foley gave a non-committal response when asked for her view on the issue.
Meanwhile, Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton has stated directly that she believed the voting age should remain at 18.
The latest Bill was introduced by Aidan Farrelly TD, the Social Democrats’ spokesman on children, who argued that the change would strengthen democratic participation.
He described the legislation as “an important piece of legislation designed to give young people a voice in our democratic process,” adding:
“I believe this is of fundamental importance at a time when turnout in Irish elections is precariously low. In fact, research in other countries has shown that young people who are enfranchised at the age of 16 are more likely to vote than those who have to wait until they are 18.”
Farrelly also pointed to the 2013 Convention on the Constitution, which recommended lowering the voting age, and said the question was one of “fairness, not competence; of equality, not maturity.”
While a wide range of parties have previously endorsed the idea in principle – including Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, the Greens, Labour, Sinn Féin, People Before Profit, the Social Democrats and several independents – the Government is not as united on the matter as many Opposition factions.