More secondary-school students oppose lowering the voting age to 16 than support the idea, a survey commissioned by the Ombudsman for Children has found.
Half of the 12-18-year-olds surveyed said they did not think 16-year-olds should have the vote, while 39 per cent were in favour, with the remainder undecided.
However, the survey of 1,036 secondary school-going under 18s found overwhelming support for the idea of their age group having more influence in education and politics.
Just 7 per cent thought young people’s opinions are considered by politicians and policymakers when making decisions about children, with 38 per cent saying rarely, and 19 per cent never.
Several youth groups have long campaigned for a reduction in the voting age from 18, with Minister for Education Norma Foley saying last May that lowering the voting age to 16 was a “discussion worth having”.
The Tomorrow Starts with Us survey, published on Friday, was commissioned by the office of the Ombudsman for Children to mark its 20th anniversary, and carried out by Amárach Research.
Asked which subject they would like to see removed from the curriculum, 33 per cent said Irish, 14 per cent science and 12 per cent history.
As for what subjects they would like to see more of, the most popular response (at 34 per cent) was for religion, with psychology and drama also mentioned frequently.
Asked what change to the education system they would favour most, the most popular response – at 25 per cent approval – was “reducing homework and emphasising continuous assessment”.
The cost of living (44 per cent), mental health services (40 per cent) and housing (33 per cent) were ranked as the biggest issues for young people – with crime and security (12 per cent), immigration (11 per cent) and LGBTQI+ issues (6 per cent) among lowest ranked concerns.
Racism and discrimination were also significant factors reported by students, with 36 per cent having experienced discrimination and 15 per cent having experienced racism.
On the positive side, 71 per cent of children reported that they believe Ireland is a good country in which to reach their full potential, describing Ireland as “class”, “welcoming” and “wonderful”.
Children’s Ombudsman Dr Niall Muldoon described as “very worrying” the finding that almost half of children (47 per cent) say they are bullied and don’t feel listened to by adults.
“Bullying regularly features in complaints that come to the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman so it is not surprising that bullying has come up in the survey,” he said. However, he said the prominence “and the widespread nature of bullying” was “really concerning and emphasises the need for the Department of Education to continue to focus on the Action Plan on Bullying, Cinealtás”.
Dr Muldoon said the survey also showed that children rarely feel listened to by adults, both inside and outside the classroom. This is despite the fact that including children’s views on decisions that affect them is a fundamental right in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, he said.
“Something is going wrong if children do not feel listened to by policymakers, educators and other adults. I know efforts are being made to include children’s voices in many areas, including within the Department of Education, but more needs to be done to communicate to children what we are doing with their opinions”, he said.
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