Ms Barbara Nolan:

Although Senator Leyden has left, I would point out that what we are talking about is the right to vote in national elections. EU citizens already have the right to vote in local and European elections in the member state in which they reside and work. That is already in place. The principle has already been seeded on those two areas. What we are addressing here is the national elections. We are getting a little caught up with the diaspora. Ireland is a member of the European Union and under that there is the concept of a citizen of the Union with certain rights that go with that, which is not the case for countries outside the Union, such as Australia or the United States, where there are large communities of Irish people. We cannot compare the two, as it would be like comparing apples and pears. Most member states give their national citizens the right to vote in their national elections when they are living and working abroad. We have pointed to the five countries out of 28 member states that do not do that. It is a particular problem related to national elections with regard to people who move from their member state to live and work in another member state. I cannot get involved or speak about the wider implications of what this might mean for people outside the European Union. That does not come under my remit, nor is it my business.