Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry I missed the presentations. I found the witnesses' interaction with other members very interesting. I know Karen McHugh from the fantastic work she does with Doras Luimní. I am at a disadvantage because I am not from a rural area, although I have connections in rural Ireland. For this reason, I cannot tap into large parts of the conversation on agricultural issues.

Like everyone else present, members of my family are living abroad and I know what it means to say goodbye to someone in an airport and to have an empty chair at the table at Christmas. I recall having long distance telephone calls with relatives in the United States in the 1980s when I could have sworn I was communicating with someone on the moon. We all know what that was like.

I am not a member of the Government. I do not accept that Government does not care or that politicians in power do not care. The current Government appointed a Minister with responsibility for the diaspora and one of the Taoiseach's nominees to the Seanad, of which I am a Member, is Senator Billy Lawless, who has been dealing with this issue for some time.

On the voting rights issue, in my opinion voting is a real and tangible connection with the country one comes from. A number of years ago when I was on my way to the RTE studios by car I passed the Romanian Embassy. It was a very wet night yet the queue to vote in the Romanian presidential election was unbelievable. This was a wonderful opportunity for Romanian people living in Ireland to have a say in the country of their birth. I am sure if we had the same capacity abroad for Irish citizens in respect of domestic elections it would have the same powerful effect. That sense of connection is very real.

As the witnesses will be aware, one of the topics for discussion by the Constitutional Convention was whether Irish citizens living outside the State should have voting rights in presidential elections and whether that would require constitutional amendment. As far as I am aware, that was recommended by the convention. In the witnesses' estimation, would a constitutional referendum be required in respect of the extension of voting rights in local elections and European elections to Irish citizens living abroad? My instinct is that it would not. What steps could be taken in a relatively short timeframe, outside of a referendum, to allow this opportunity to be afforded to Irish citizens abroad? I have a sister living in London and a brother living in Canada. I know that they would both greatly appreciate the opportunity to have their say in the country they left. Some people leave with a heavy heart and others leave because they cannot wait to get out of here. While all people may not avail of this right the fact that they can do so could mean an awful lot to them.