I spoke in favour of Senator Lynn Ruane and Senator Fintan Warfield's bill to lower the voting age to 16 for local and European Parliament elections. The evidence behind this bill is clear. It is not just that 16 year olds need the opportunity to meaningfully engage with their communities, it is also crucial that young people help to shape the future of their communities and Europe. It is very disappointing that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have blocked this bill for another nine months; meaning that it is likely that many young people will not have the opportunity to vote in the highly important European Parliament elections of 2019.
Speaking after today’s debate in the Seanad Senator Higgins said, “The Data Sharing Bill will impact on how everyone’s personal data is shared between public bodies. It is essential that we get this piece of legislation right and I welcome the progress that the Minister and his Department have made since our robust debate at committee stage.”
Senator Higgins repeated her call for the restoration of tax relief for trade union subscriptions in a recent edition of Liberty newspaper.