Reduce Voting Age in Ireland?

It would make little difference. Adds about 120,000 to the electorate and my guess is about 35% would vote, assuming they added themselves to the electoral role.

Might favour FF & FG as their parents would be more likely to vote

Your brain isnt fully mature at 16. Until you can clearly remember the actions of the two previous governments you shouldnt be voting. Younger people are easier to sway with social media rather than remembering what candidates said and what they did in the past.

That is how I vote, what did a candidate say and what they did or their voting record in the Dail. Then there is the local issues of fixing roads and what not. Past performance is evidence of future outcomes…….

They are only opening voting up to younger people because older people are so fed up with the parties not many bother.

And when it goes to 16, then what? Why not 14, or 10, or 6 years of age?

I don't care that people change politically as they go from young people to old.

What I do care about is that people under 18 remain children. They remain the responsibility of their parents or the state. They cannot marry, they cannot enter into contracts.

As a society we bemoan the premature loss of childhood through the tsunami of information that is so accessible to kids. And let's be clear, it IS a bad thing. Bad for their mental health, bad for their futures.

So, let kids be kids for as long as we can. Let the Brits do what they will, we will do what we will. And polling on the issue for years now has shown that there is nowhere near a majority here in favour of the constitutional change that would be necessary, by a referendum, to lower the voting age to 16. And so it will not happen in Ireland.

16 year olds should be able to drink alcohol.

The idea that its verboten until 18 and then they are let go wild is terrible and contributes a lot to our dysfunctional relationship with the drink.

On the continent you can drink beer and cider at 16, which allows teens to have a gradual exposure to alcohol instead of turning 18 and going straight to vodka whites and jagerbombs

When I was 16 I was an ardent socialist and follower of SF. If I could have voted I'd have voted left in every possible category.

Now, and to be honest since my early 20's, I'm a right wing capitalist. I'd be ashamed of my opinions of 16-18 year old me.

I would be more ashamed to be a self identifying "right wing capitalist", especially living in this country where we can see the benefits of left-wing social policies first hand.

The relative peace, prosperity, safety and music/arts culture in this country owes a lot to our safety nets and progressive income redistribution, and sweet feck all to right wing capitalism.

Did you have a point to make?

do you struggle with maths?

<16 is not the same as 16+