Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have one eye on the screen, as I must dash across when my question is about to be bounced.

This issue has been talked about for many years and some elements of it are workable and, unfortunately, some are not. There is the question that posted workers throughout Europe, either in the public or private sector, who go there not of their own accord but because they are sent by their employers, should have the right to vote in embassies or wherever. That is a given and I have no difficulty with that.

The next question that arises is the old principle of whether there is representation without taxation which has been tossed around for years as well. If they are permanently posted abroad by their employers, public or private, they probably should retain the right to vote throughout Europe.

The big question relates to the diaspora worldwide and the degree to which one can prove a point, without impacting severely on the electoral decision of the people at home. It is a serious issue. It is something of which the European Commission is mindful. Of course, we recognise that this is only a discussion on an observation, and it has no power of enforcement or anything like that.

There is the question of the voters' register that has been referred to by Senator Leyden. First, a means has to be found to update that. If we cannot update the register at home, I can assure Ms Nolan without a shadow of a doubt that we cannot update the register abroad. That is the first measure to be taken and it is a fundamental aspect of voting.

If one does not do it right, one can completely corrupt the voting system. One can simply and easily skew the voting in a particular direction, with the use of modern technology, much to the disenfranchisement of those who live in the homeland, and that must be observed at all times. There are two issues. One is the entitlement of citizens abroad to exercise their franchise under whatever the rules and guidelines, but the other is to be certain not to disenfranchise those who are living in the homeland, and that should apply to all other countries as well. Otherwise, those living at home paying their taxes in the normal way to the Government through the agencies at home may find themselves outvoted at some stage in the future in cases of countries with a large diaspora.