Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in. This is a very emotive issue for many of those whom we heard at the Global Irish Civic Forum. I commend the Department on holding that forum. It was absolutely fantastic. The level of passion from our diaspora for moving this forward as quickly as possible was very evident. I also thank the witnesses for the work that has been done on the options paper.

I have a number of questions in respect of the Bill. One concerns the timeline. Is there a possibility that a referendum could be held and a possible electoral amendment Bill put in place more quickly? Are there practical impediments to having this ready by the next presidential election? I have heard many people express frustration that it may be 2025 before it becomes a reality. While I appreciate that it is a tight timeframe, could it be done were shoulders put to the wheel and were the Government to make a decision on the options paper? At present, how long is being allocated for consultation? What timelines have been put in place? When do we expect a Government decision on the options paper and on what potential wording might go into an electoral amendment Bill?

An issue was raised earlier in respect of members of the unionist community in the North. Do the witnesses have any comment on those observations? How can we make sure that whatever we do is as inclusive as possible in order that everybody who feels they have a right to vote in a presidential election will have that right?

Could the witnesses comment on other countries that have brought in presidential voting rights or similar and the time it took them to do so? We seem to be taking a very long time to move this forward. The Bill was put forward a number of years ago. I appreciate that there are political decisions behind a lot of this over which the officials have no control. However, the accession countries to the EU were able to take these political decisions quickly and then implement them quickly. What were the circumstances that allowed them to do so? Have the witnesses any knowledge or experience from working with colleagues across Europe that they could share with the committee?