Ms Jennie McShannon:

I thank the committee for inviting me. Irish in Britain is 40 years old, was founded by the Irish community for the Irish community in 1973 and was originally called the Federation of Irish Societies. It comprises almost 100 organisations across Britain, primarily in England but also Scotland and Wales, which provide social care and welfare, cultural hubs, community centres and Irish clubs to the community and, increasingly, some of the new Irish who tend to form new organisations around the work they do in their area, such as the lawyers' associations and business networks. As a membership organisation we are the only national representative and do much work representing issues pertaining to the Irish community, as fed to us, to the British and Irish Governments.

Our involvement in this issue began when the Constitutional Convention was announced. Our membership was very keen for us to take up the issue of voting in the presidential elections. The initial mandate was on votes for the Irish abroad, as per the Constitutional Convention discussions. We pursued a campaign of engaging the community on the issue and finding out how people felt across the very diverse elements in the community, as they engaged with us through our membership organisations or through our wider reach. We called the project "diaspora voice", and it was a listening initiative and engaged with the Constitutional Convention. We held a number of listening events with many different groups at national meetings, through our informal network sessions and through online polling and promotion of the issues.

Initially we had a very varied response. Among the older Irish there was overwhelming support for votes in the presidential elections. People who had been living in Britain for as many as 50 years still talked about "our President" and were excited about the opportunity to be involved in the presidential elections. On the wider engagement in the legislative assemblies there was some concern about what it might mean for Irish people's ability to vote in British elections. The Irish community is very active in local politics in many of the major cities and urban areas throughout Britain. Is was an important opportunity for us to feed back what happens in other countries, as described by Dr. Kavanagh.

The response of the new or younger Irish was very different. While they felt the Irish presidential elections were very important, they felt it did not go far enough and that they had a significant investment in what happens in Irish public life. Many of them talked about returning to Ireland, and we know that many will while others will not. Many of them had come to Britain in order to sustain mortgages in Ireland and are considering the care and support of elderly parents. Some are living in Britain while their immediate families and children remain in Ireland. Through that we began to form our position as a representative organisation and made a submission on the issue to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

We believe Irish citizens have a major contribution to make to public life. We talked about diaspora engagement in terms of remittances in the past, and in the future they may support Ireland through investment. There are "transnationalists": people who live in Britain but still feel very much that they have a life back in Ireland. We made four main proposals for action, namely, to end the disenfranchisement of recent migrants, facilitate some kind of diaspora vote in the presidential elections, provide for diaspora representation in the Oireachtas, and possibly appoint a Minister for diaspora engagement.

We began by picking up on the some of the President's statements, asking whether we are really Irish and part of the nation and whether we would pervert the national vote. President Higgins expressed his very visionary form of Irishness, saying that the Irishness he believes is emerging, even if not yet fully realised, is one that will be informed by the experience of the Irish abroad as much as, or even to a greater extent than, it will be informed by those of us who live in Ireland. This was a very significant statement around the role of the diaspora in Irish life. We welcomed the European Commissioner's advice on our participation in national elections and whether it is binding in EU law - which the committee is examining - that the citizens' right to vote is fundamental to any democracy. The authority is not just for membership of the EU but is also set out in the UN and Council of Europe human rights treaties.

There is national consensus that the Irish diaspora is a vast human resource with economic, political and social opportunities and a contribution to make.

Diaspora leaders both in civil society and business believe we should be promoting active participation. For our own position, we encourage the Irish community to vote as much as possible and to participate in the British elections because they have a vote in that country and they should make their vote count. We pursued such a campaign in the last British election. They should also participate as much as possible in Ireland, particularly those who have such concrete and tangible reasons to be involved. Exercising the right to vote is a very powerful way to engage and involve the diaspora. Removing barriers to voting is in the interests of the citizens overseas, but also in the interests of citizens living in Ireland.
We know there are many objections, as Dr. Kavanagh has mentioned, including that the overseas voters will not know the issues. We point to things such as data indicating that a large amount of the readership of The Irish Timesonline comes from the diaspora, particularly in Britain. I do not have the exact percentage so I do not want to fire it out there, but I was quite taken aback by that figure. There are many discussions about anything that is going in Ireland and people are still very involved and knowledgeable. In the light of the revolution in global communications and social media, it is much easier to stay involved and engaged in the issues.
Taxation and representation is another issue that has been raised. Noreen Bowden, who is in America and has used social media a lot to put forward a similar campaign supporting the votes, pointed out that no representation without taxation would have implications for Irish living in Ireland - for those who are not paying tax or not employed and are not able to contribute to the taxation system. They do not lose their vote as a result of that and nor should the Irish abroad. The income of EU citizens is taxed primarily in the state of residence so they are contributing in terms of the EU. The Irish overseas transfer money home and are liable to many forms of taxation through property tax and different services.
The fear of swamping is something that in our community among the Irish diaspora in Britain they worried about in itself and that is something they wanted to consider. There have been estimates of the diaspora being 70 million and concern that the votes overseas would distort results. We considered the international experience before we made our submission to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and talked about it with our members. We concluded that those fears were relatively unfounded. We believe the biggest challenge for diaspora leaders would be persuading citizens to vote. Just because it would be an uphill struggle to get people to vote is not sufficient reason not to actively give people the right to vote. They are two very different and distinct things.
We have a few things to say about the fear of swamping. The number of those of Irish descent and heritage obviously vastly exceeds the current passport holders who might be entitled to vote. That is estimated at about 3 million - exact figures are not available. Of those who may be entitled to vote, only a small proportion would be likely to register and request a voting ballot. International comparisons based on our figures - Dr. Kavanagh's are probably more accurate than ours - would suggest a figure of more like 300,000. In the UK with an overseas population of 27 million, citizens are entitled to vote for up to 15 years after leaving their constituencies and yet only 23,000 register to vote. The issues are similar. Even those on the register must be committed to casting their vote in any given election. Among US registered overseas voters, the turnout is 6.8% and if that were to be replicated, numbers could be as low as 20,000.
In terms of no voting without representation, the parliamentary institutions and the government that we felt should represent the Irish at home and abroad, the residency requirement should be removed. It would not necessarily require a constitutional change as we understand it, but we are not experts in constitutional issues.
Votes in national elections could be counted in the constituency of origin or it could be voting for representatives in a dedicated five-seat diaspora constituency. A new Seanad diaspora panel was obviously also a possibility. Procedures would obviously need to be put in place to accommodate that. The Irish in Britain who have talked to us about this are aware of the seismic changes in terms of procedures and processes. However, they are very keen on the commitment and principle.
In terms of the electoral roll and overseas vote, there is an urgent need for reviewing the method of updating and maintaining the electoral roll and postal and in-line facilities. The community felt that there were great opportunities there. Perhaps the inclusion of overseas voters should be subject to application and regular renewal as opposed to languishing on an electoral roll.
There is a need for review of voting and counting procedures from paper to electronic and online voting to guard against digital exclusion overseas. Obviously, in terms of the presidential election, many of the older Irish are not digitally included and that is an issue. Among the new Irish, it felt like a much more surmountable change to make. Among the older Irish, it was a bigger issue because they would not be as active digitally. There is the importance of training young voters, administrators and candidates on the issues and the ways that those living in Britain would want to engage.
I want to talk about time limits. Germany has a time limit of 25 years and the UK has 15 years. Irish citizens lose the vote instantly unless they can demonstrate an intention to return within 18 months, but that benchmark is very difficult to ascertain especially for those who are coming and going - coming home for a summer or a spell and then going back or possibly moving on. We believe there is a positive requirement to renew electoral registration. That would be a better mechanism. EU citizens should have equal entitlement to vote in national elections throughout the EU. I know Dr. Kavanagh has referred to some places that are not within the EU, but there should be some comparability across EU countries and there should not be a different standard.
Those were the things that came up in our discussions. The Irish in Britain are unique in a way because we are the only members of the diaspora in a country that automatically gives us the right to vote immediately on arrival in Britain. There was a thing about people feeling they could be engaged in two political jurisdictions. They would have an interest in local elections in Britain because it affects their children going to school and the health care they are receiving. Their interest in the Irish system is still very much alive. In seeking the support of the Irish diaspora, they were seeking the support in return on that.