OPINION: '16-year-olds should be able to vote in Ireland- but on one condition'

The UK has just announced that 16 and 17 year olds will now be allowed to vote in the next UK general election and some politicians in Ireland have called for the same move here.

I can't help but agree when TD Aidan Farrelly says that “people aged 16 and 17 are as civically informed as their peers aged over 18, but are unjustly restricted when it comes to democratic participation.

“If young people can work full time and pay taxes, it is only fair to afford them the opportunity to influence how these taxes are spent, locally and nationally.

“Last month, Ireland ranked 18th out of over 140 countries worldwide in terms of youth participation in political, economic and civic life. We should be doing so much better."

I think Ireland should definitely move towards allowing young people from age 16 upwards to vote.

As a young women myself, I fully believe that the youth of Ireland should be able to make important decisions for themselves that will no doubt affect their future, arguably more than anyone else.

What happens in a general election will directly affect their lives in every way, whether it be education, housing, healthcare or the cost of living; the youth of Ireland will bear the brunt of who the older generations vote for.

This is why I believe they should get a say, and it's about time they do. But this should only happen on one condition.

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It's all down to education. There is without a doubt a number of young people in Ireland aged 16 or 17 years old who have a great knowledge of politics and would only love to have the right to vote for their desired party or candidate in the next general election. I would say some even have more knowledge on such matters than people who have been voting for years.

For this move to work effectively, I do think that schools need to provide more education on the political system in Ireland. 

I'm 23 years old and it's only in recent years that I've started to educate myself on politics. I wish that I had learned more about it when I was in school. I only voted for the first time in the last general election.

The Irish education system should explain how to vote, the different parties and explain the history of politics in Ireland.

I had no idea who to vote for when I turned 18 and never understood the importance of it, so I didn't bother initially.

How do you vote when you don't have any knowledge on who you're voting for? What's the difference between one party compared to the other? These were the questions I, and many other young people like myself, were asking.

This information is so important and choosing the right option for you should be mandatory in schools and be provided to everyone to give them a fair chance.

This would allow the younger generations to properly educate themselves and make their own decisions in a general, local or presidential election, as well as referendums, without the biased influence of their parents, friends or other family members.

What good would a 16-year-old do in a general election if they just immediately vote in line with their parents' political beliefs? 

So while I do think the change is very much needed and would be good for the youth of Ireland, having access to political education in schools should go hand-in-hand with such a responsibility.

16 years old is definitely not too young to have a say on the future of Ireland, especially if they are properly informed.