Marshalled List of Amendments
20 September 2024
Item 4: Order Paper 51/22-27 – Tuesday 24 September 2024
Motion: Lowering the Voting Age for 16 and 17 Year Olds
Proposed:
That this Assembly notes the motion agreed by the Assembly, in November 2012, calling on the British Government to introduce legislation to change the voting age to 16; regrets that previous British Governments failed to introduce such legislation; further notes the manifesto commitment of the Labour Government to give 16 and 17 year-olds the right to vote in all elections; believes that the voting age should be reduced to 16 for all elections and referendums; and calls on the British Government to introduce legislation to accommodate this change.
Mr Danny Baker
Mr Pádraig Delargy
Ms Emma Sheerin
Miss Áine Murphy
Amendment 1
Leave out all after ‘referendums;’ and insert:
‘endorses the recommendation from the Institute of Public Policy Research 2023 report, Out of Kilter, which calls for votes at 16 to be combined with high-quality and expansive civic education in schools to boost voter turnout and political engagement among young people; calls on the Minister of Education to consider this expanded civic education as part of the pending review of the Northern Ireland Curriculum; and further calls on the British Government to introduce legislation to reduce the voting age for all elections and referendums to 16.’
[Ms Sian Mulholland]
[Ms Kellie Armstrong]
[Mrs Michelle Guy]
[Mr Nick Mathison]
[Mr Andrew McMurray]
Motion: High-quality Mobile Coverage in Rural Areas
Proposed:
That this Assembly recognises the need for high-quality mobile coverage in rural communities across Northern Ireland; supports the roll-out of the Shared Rural Network by the UK Government and four leading mobile network operators and welcomes progress to date; expresses concern that further investment in new and existing phone masts under this initiative has been jeopardised by major delays in the planning process; believes no community should be left behind as a consequence; notes with disappointment the Minister for Infrastructure’s failure to engage directly or meaningfully with the mobile infrastructure industry since February 2024; urges the Department for Infrastructure to update planning guidance to local councils in order to advance this project and ensure the planning system supports the delivery of rural mobile infrastructure more generally; and calls on the Minister to urgently address barriers to extending the 4G and 5G mobile network in rural and hard-to-reach areas of Northern Ireland.
[Mrs Deborah Erskine]
[Mr Stephen Dunne]
[Mr Keith Buchanan]
Amendment 1
Leave out all after ‘consequence;’ and insert:
‘acknowledges the work of the Department for the Economy in leading the Barrier Busting Taskforce and its planning subgroup, including the involvement of the Department for Infrastructure, local councils, and mobile network companies; endorses the aims of the subgroup to identify barriers relating to the planning system and to investigate best practice in mobile network development; further believes no community should be left behind; and calls on the Minister for Infrastructure to support the work of the Taskforce to address the barriers to extending the 4G and 5G mobile network in rural areas, whilst respecting the principles of an inclusive planning system and ensuring the benefits of mobile coverage are maximised across this region.’
[Mr Cathal Boylan]
[Mrs Linda Dillon]
[Miss Áine Murphy]
