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.
“Open adoption could offer more honest and compassionate recognition of family situations”
Senator Alice-Mary Higgins has welcomed the launch of a ground-breaking public consultation on the potential introduction of open adoption in Ireland. This consultation is a direct result of an amendment which Senator Higgins successfully made to the Adoption (Amendment) Act 2016.
In January 2017, the Knowledge Development Box Bill 2016 returned to the Seanad.