Argentina, Austria, Ecuador, Nicaragua and a number of German lander have also granted 16 year olds the right to vote an
Engaging the Future Fianna Fáil Policy for Increased Youth Participation in Politics
Foreword Both Deputy Troy, Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Children and Youth Affairs, and I have worked jointly on drafting this document, which we hope will serve as a framework for enhancing young people’s engagement with politics and public affairs. Although we have one of the youngest countries in Europe, with about half of our population under 35 years of age, we have a poor rate of youth participation in formal political structures. For too long, as a society we have wrung our hands when it comes to youth disengagement from politics, but have rarely taken concrete measures to attempt to address this. In fact, this government has taken a number of backwards steps, including its refusal to hold its long promised referendum on reducing the voting age to 16 or 17. Perhaps the most worrying trend we have seen is the continual decline in turnout across elections in this country, yet the Department has said that it does not have responsibility to address this nor are there any measures to improve voter turnout. This is a complete dereliction of duty by the government to our young people. To have a fully representative and better functioning political system, as a society we have to do more to involve people of all backgrounds and all ages. We need a government that understands what is at stake and a fresh approach to policies for engaging young people in politics and public affairs. This is why we have prepared this document, which details practical first steps for reengaging young people.
Malcolm Byrne Cllr Malcolm Byrne
Engaging the Future: Fianna Fáil Policy for Increased Youth Participation in Politics Introduction Contrary to popular belief, young people are interested in politics. Issues ranging from human rights to the cost of college to the environment to car insurance engage those in their teens and twenties. Consumer power is sometimes seen as more effective than going out to vote and traditional political organisations such as party or trade union branches are sometimes perceived as less effective in comparison to say, raising an issue through social media. As one of the youngest countries in Europe, with about half of our population under 35 years of age, we have a relatively poor rate of youth participation in formal political structures. The average age of a TD elected to the current Dáil at the last General Election was 48.5. Our political structures, mostly dating from the 19th Century, are not always compatible with the language and ways of engagement of those who have come of age in the 20th Century. But as the Marriage Equality referendum in May showed, young people do feel passionately about issues and want their voices to be heard. For our political system to be representative and for it to maintain credibility, we need to involve people of all backgrounds and all ages. The social contract that forms the State requires the acceptance of the teenager who spends her evenings skateboarding or hanging around with her friends as much as the fifty year old who goes for a drink with his local politician. In shaping our society, we also need to encourage that young person to consider a career in civic life. The precarious situation of many young people can explain their growing disenchantment with politics (high unemployment, increasing number of young people living in poverty, unable to access their social rights); they feel they are not being heard because policies are not meeting their needs. Access to quality education, secure employment, decent living conditions, adequate transport, health care, technology and opportunities for social, cultural and economic participation are a prerequisite for the inclusion and active citizenship of all young people. This document should be read in conjunction with our party’s commitment to achieving such goals as well as the position papers in the relevant fields that outline how those principles will be realised. Here we set out a series of ten policy proposals that Fianna Fáil would implement in Government to engage young people to a greater degree in the political process.
Policy Summary 1. We would reduce the voting age from 18 to 16 for the 2019 Local Elections. 2. We would appoint at least four people aged under 35, two male and two female, among the Taoiseach’s eleven nominees to the Seanad. 3. We would establish a working group comprising Oireachtas representatives, national representatives of Comhairle na nOg and representatives of the National Youth Council of Ireland to examine ways where Comhaire na nOg proposals could better feed into national policy making. 4. Local authorities shall set aside small budgets for each electoral area where young people will determine themselves where the budget shall be spent in order to improve life for young people in the community. 5. We will establish an annual youth day at Leinster House where young people will be invited in and Oireachtas members as well as relevant public servants shall engage directly with young people and the issues that they wish to raise. 6. Training will be offered for all incoming Oireachtas members on ways of engaging with young people, including through the use of social media. 7. All schools at primary and secondary level will be required to develop policy on how they encourage the appropriate engagement of students in decision making processes in the schools. 8. Political education shall form a mandatory part of the curriculum at primary level and junior cycle at second level. This shall include unbiased information about how democracy works, human rights and how to participate in civic life. It will include a requirement that every child learn the National Anthem. 9. A programme will be developed and resourced to support community organisations to upskill to ensure greater participation in civic life, with a special focus on the marginalised, including young people that are at risk of social exclusion. 10. Methods of voting will be improved so that the greatest possibility be provided for all citizens to take part in democracy is afforded. This will include extending postal ballots to students who may be at college or young people who may be abroad at the time of a poll.
1. We would reduce the voting age from 18 to 16 for the 2019 Local Elections. The Referendum on Scottish independence and the Brazilian Presidential election in 2014 both allowed 16 and 17 year olds to vote. The turnout in Scotland was 85%, while almost 81% voted in Brazil, much higher than most votes in the rest of the democratic world. Brazil has allowed 16 year olds to vote since 1989, youth participation in elections is high and the habit of voting is well ingrained. The Scottish Parliament is urging a reduction in the voting age for Westminister elections and the EU referendum in the UK. The Constitutional Convention has recommended that we reduce the voting age. Granting the right to vote to those aged 16 and 17 will encourage greater civic participation by teenagers and ensure that young people’s concerns are more seriously addressed by more chronologically challenged decision makers. At 16, a young person is very much part of their community and it is an easier time in which to start voting than at 18 when young people start to move out of home, to college or to work – setting out on their own journey in life. The earlier in life a habit is formed, the more likely that it will continue through later life. An extensive 2012 study of Danish voters by Yosef Bhatti and Kasper Hansen for the University of Copenhagen led them to the conclusion that voting is a social act and that when young people leave the family nest, they are less likely to cast a ballot. Argentina, Austria, Ecuador, Nicaragua and a number of German lander have also granted 16 year olds the right to vote and the Isle of Man made the change in 2006 (it was the first territory in the world to give women the right to vote, in 1881). Reducing the voting age for the 2019 Local Elections would not require constitutional change (unlike for other elections). It would also prove a useful testing ground as to whether or not it should be extended to other elections. 2. We would appoint at least four people aged under-35 in Seanad, two male and two female, among the Taoiseach’s eleven nominees. The importance of role models in society shows that if political life is perceived as being predominantly a domain for older citizens, young people are less likely to be attracted. The opportunity exists for an incoming Government to make a bold statement by appointing at least four young people to the Seanad to ensure that the perspectives of those born during the 1980s and 1990s are heard.
3. We would establish a working group comprising Oireachtas representatives, national representatives of Comhairle na nOg and representatives of the National Youth Council of Ireland to examine ways where Comhaire na nOg proposals could better feed into national policy making. A structured dialogue between parliamentarians and young people on how to engage young people more in civic society will allow for an exploration of the concerns of all players and ultimately to more formalised structures to allow meaningful input by young people into decision making. 4. Local authorities shall set aside small budgets for each electoral area where young people will determine themselves where the budget shall be spent in order to improve life for young people in the community. While local youth councils / Comhairli na nOg exist across the country, they mostly just provide for an exchange of views. Allowing young people to determine how their communities could be improved in a real way is important. These bodies cannot be ‘talking shops’. We need to look at how to engage young people in how the political system works and to strengthen links between the Council, civic society and young people. We need to put in place effective two way channels of communication so that young people are aware of what their Council is doing and how decisions are made and so that the voices of young people can be included when decisions are being made that affect our community. By establishing a small funding pot in each Council where young people can decide through a structured mechanism on how it can be allocated to best improve their lives, young people will both benefit through learning to use the process of participatory decision making as well as directly benefiting from the outcomes. This process will need to be appropriately facilitated and while elected members and officials can offer advice and support, ultimately it will be through the young people and their decision making processes that the final decision will be made. This will engage young people in the process of civic decision making and provide realistic scenarios that will involve examinations of how politics and administration work.
5. We will establish an annual youth day at Leinster House where young people will be invited in and Oireachtas members as well as relevant public servants shall engage directly with young people and the issues that they wish to raise. 6. Training will be offered for all incoming Oireachtas members on ways engaging with young people, including through the use of social media. The use of Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Vine, YouTube and other tools should be explored as ways to interact. Using social media is also advantageous for young people who may not be able to travel to gatherings, etc. An online platform to allow young people express their views, designed in consultation with potential users should be set up. 7. All schools at primary and secondary level will be required to develop policy on how they encourage the appropriate engagement of students in decision making processes in the schools. This will include ensuring that the Student Council at second level schools shall meet with the School’s Board of Management at least once a year to engage on ways to develop the school. This can include exchanging perspectives on issues such as how the learning environment could be improved, how the school can be promoted in positive ways and on anti-bullying measures. 8. Political education shall form a mandatory part of the curriculum at primary level and junior cycle at second level. This shall include unbiased information about how democracy works, human rights and how to participate in civic life. It will include a requirement that every child learn the National Anthem. Many young people lack the basic knowledge regarding how to vote, let alone how to create policy change. From an early age, these essential skills shall be taught. This will also include skills such as public speaking, committee and meeting skills and a general awareness of rights and responsibilities as a citizen. As a party, we believe that every student should know the National Anthem and this should form part of the curriculum.
9. A programme will be developed and resourced to support community organisations to upskill to ensure greater participation in civic life, with a special focus on the marginalised, including young people that are at risk of social exclusion. Many young people, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, lack the skills to meaningfully contribute to the development and management of local community and voluntary organisations. We will provide a funding stream that will support organisations working in disadvantaged communities to provide training in skills such as public speaking, form completion, how committees work and how to engage with decision makers. 10. Methods of voting will be improved so that the greatest possibility be provided for all citizens to take part in democracy is afforded. This will include extending postal ballots to students who may be at college or young people who may be abroad at the time of a poll. The Marriage Equality referendum saw many young people travel home to vote. If an election happens in college term, students have to travel home to their constituency to cast a ballot (this is also required of those who may be on international exchanges, such as Erasmus). We should make voting as accessible as possible to those who want to cast their ballot and the quite restricted system of postal voting should be expanded, all the time though ensuring against any possible fraudulent voting.
Conclusion The measures we have outlined in this document represent practical steps that can be taken to re-engage young people in politics. We believe that youth disengagement from politics, as manifested in voter turnout rates as well as other forms, is an issue of enormous importance for our country. These policy steps, we believe, have the potential to make young citizens become more habitually involved in - and familiar - with both local and national politics and public affairs.
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