Ms Jennie McShannon:

I will answer a few questions. As Dr. Kavanagh is in a better position to respond to others, I will leave them to him.

On voting mechanisms, Irish communities are mainly in conurbations in Britain, including Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield and, increasingly, the surrounding areas as the Irish community spreads outwards. There are not consulates in all of these areas. The number of consulates and embassies has diminished, but there are very active and engaged Irish centres that could work effectively as polling stations. There is also the online facility. Obviously, there are ways of promoting this.

With regard to those who are not digitally engaged, there are Irish centres, including the Irish World Heritage Centre. I do not know whether there is a possibility of using such centres. It would have staffing implications, as they would have to be managed in the way polling stations are managed here. However, there would be a facility through using both online and off-line opportunities. There is a significant Irish centre infrastructure across Britain.

On dual elections, if a person from Britain comes to live in Ireland, he or she receives the vote, but he or she also retains his or her vote in Britain; he or she does not have to make a choice. That is what we would envisage for Irish citizens living in Britain. When the Irish go to Britain, they receive a vote, but they do not have an entitlement to vote here. Therefore, there is already a disparity. We cannot see any reason the British system could not be operated here.

Mr. Mark Scully has talked about transnationals, or those who have a sense of home in two places because they move so much between Britain and Ireland. I refer to the Ryanair generation. People are as much involved in what is happening here as what is happening in Britain. This presents a great opportunity in making a contribution to the Irish economy. What I describe has not been a massive issue for the British electoral system.

Asking who is the diaspora is like asking how long is a piece of string. With regard to who should be allocated the right to vote, our view has been that a distinction can be made with regard to those who are Irish born. In Australia or New Zealand one can be a citizen whether one was born there or not, in the same way as we have Irish citizens who were not born here, but only citizens born in the country can vote. There is a realm of possibilities. This would probably narrow things down a lot with regard to those who are second or third generation and the fear of swamping, as they can be Irish citizens but would not necessarily have the right to vote.

With regard to what people vote for, through digital communication they can see what candidates and parties state. Who the diaspora would vote for would depend on whether the diaspora would have a reserved constituency. An issue has been raised with regard to whether being a diaspora candidate would depend on having the money to canvass. This is a genuine issue. Would those without the financial backing to meet the diaspora to generate a vote be excluded? If there was not a diaspora constituency but people had a right to vote in their home constituencies, such as Meath or Dublin, would they be able to engage and understand what the candidates from each party offer as opposed to having a general sweep of the parties?

A campaign in countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand, which have a large number of Irish emigrants, could be very difficult. One might have a much bigger campaign from emigrants living there if those living in Europe were given a vote.