Reacting to the Government’s announcement that they are withdrawing a bill from the previous Government that would have lowered the voting age for local body elections to 16, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Changes to the rules of the game in any democracy should be decided by the people, not by politicians who have the incentive to screw the scrum in their favour.

“While reasonable minds can differ on the merits of lowering the voting age, introducing such a significant piece of legislation in the dying days of Parliament and closing submissions just six days after the general election is nothing more than bad-faith electoral reform.

“Proponents of lowering the voting age should work to win over public support before any bill is introduced in the future and allow the decision to be made by voters, not self-interested politicians.”

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