THE GOVERNMENT has received a formal recommendation to lower the voting age to 16.

The recommendation from the Constitutional Convention is the first to have been made by the body since it began its official meetings in January.

The 100-member body – two-thirds of which is made up of ordinary members of the public – decided in January to recommend that the voting age be reduced to 16.

The terms of reference for the convention had asked it to consider whether the current age (18) should be lowered to 17.

It also asked the convention to consider whether the term of the Presidency should be shortened to five years, and be aligned with local and European elections – recommendations which were rejected by the convention.

The rules laid down by the Oireachtas in setting up the convention mean the government must respond to the recommendation within four months.

If the government approves the recommendation, and agrees to arrange a referendum to lower the voting age, it must also outline a timetable by which it intends to do so.

“This is a landmark day for the work of the Constitutional Convention,” said its chairman Tom Arnold.

“The establishment of the Constitutional Convention represented an exciting and innovative approach to constitutional reform in this country. Today, we see the first part of the process in action and this report reflects the Convention vote by a slender majority to recommend that the voting age be lowered to 16.”

Arnold said the convention was a “fresh approach” that allowed ordinary people to shape the running of the country.

The convention held a second set of hearings last month on whether to amend the constitutional reference to the role of women, and next month will consider amending the current document so as to allow full civil marriage for same-sex couples.

Read: Over 1,000 submissions to convention on same-sex marriage