On Friday 23 October the Dail debated a motion by Deputy Dominic Hannigan to consider the Report of the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs entitled ‘Voting Rights of Irish Citizens Abroad’, laid before Dáil Éireann on 12th November, 2014.
You can download a full transcript of the debate here.
Dominic Hannigan TD chaired the committee which was formed as a result of comments from the EU Commission that scolded Ireland and a three other Member States for not making provisions for voting rights for their citizens overseas. The Commission suggested this may be a barrier to Free Movement of EU Citizens.
In the Report which was published last year, called for the Irish government to accept the principle that voting rights in national elections be extended to Irish citizens abroad. The Committee also recommended that an electoral commission be set up to establish how best such voting rights could be implemented in an Irish context. Deputy Hannigan reiterated these findings during the debate and concluded his statement with a powerful call to the chamber to accept the principles and not fear opening up the voting franchise to citizens outside the state:
“As far as I am concerned, citizens have the right to vote. For what and for whom they vote is up to them. That is the democratic system in which we live. So what if they vote for a different party? It is their right to do so. They are either full citizens of our State or they are not. They cannot be half–citizens. It is simple as that. We should not fear our citizens living abroad but encourage them to vote and explain the issues to them. We should not patronise them to the extent that we think they would not understand what is going on in our country. We should have confidence in their ability to make the right decision to vote accordingly.”
Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Paudie Coffey spoke on behalf of Minister Kelly. Deputy Coffey welcomed the opportunity to discuss the matter but cautioned that any changes would need a long consultation period, saying that “a number of factors that need to be borne in mind as we undertake the analysis on extending the franchise to citizen’s resident outside the State. As I have stated, that analysis is under way and will be completed in due course.”
Deputy Timmy Dooley of Fianna Fail spoke in favour of recommendations of the committee and reminded those attending the debate that “approximately 115 countries and territories, including almost all developed nations, have systems in place to allow their citizens abroad to vote.”
Deputy Michael Colreavy if Sinn Féin welcomed the recommendations of the report but cautioned that “this report, although welcome, is nothing new. We have heard all it has to say before on several occasions. What was missing previously and, I fear, will be missing now is action from the Government. The Government needs to take this issue seriously.”
Deputy Colreavy also commented on the need to be inclusive of those in Northern Ireland who wish to be involved with the democratic process south of the border, including Unionists.
In his closing remarks, Deputy Hannigan criticised the statement by the Minister of State at the DECLG saying that it was not a “a can–do speech”, adding that “It was a speech that gave many reasons as to why this will take time.” Mr Hannigan used his final point to call for action, stating that “We should lead and show our citizens abroad that they are part of the Irish nation, that we respect their views and that we want them involved in our society. As Deputy Michael Colreavy said, we should not be waiting; we should be acting.”