Professor Colin Harvey:

I thank Senator Black for the questions. I agree with much of what she said. The evidence is crystal clear that Ireland is an outlier and is out of step. As the Senator said, some very strong statements have been made about the position in Ireland, which needs to change. My view is that the blanket nature of the Irish position leaves it vulnerable. As many of the members will know, courts do not like near-blanket exclusions and so there is a vulnerability there. As a matter of principle, being so out of step with European partners is in itself a rationale for addressing this issue now without the need for a future legal challenge. There is an opportunity to address this.

A number of issues arise in relation to the European Parliament. I will separate out two of them. Given that the protocol envisages some form of potentially near-permanent arrangement for Northern Ireland going forward, the focus has been on the assembly and its role in this regard. The witnesses will know what the arrangements are. There has also been a discussion about making sure the voice of Northern Ireland is heard in the European Parliament going forward. I will separate out how that issue might be addressed. There are a number of suggestions around that, one of which includes the potential to provide for observer status to make sure it is addressed.

The second issue raises a wider point. We are having a conversation today about presidential voting rights and whether residents outside the State should be able to vote in those specific elections. Obviously, there is a bigger conversation to be had about voting rights in other elections. My own sense is that those conversations are for another day because we have reached a point in the discussion where there is a Bill with concrete proposals that are specific to presidential voting rights. It is important to keep the focus of the conversation on that. However, this raises a question in the longer term about other elections. As members will know much better than I do, in a context where there is often an appetite to take one issue and magnify it into 45 issues, it is important to note that this is about voting for the fundamentally important and symbolic role of the Irish President and extending voting rights for that particular election. The wider conversation needs to be had and is being had already. However, as we are facing into a referendum on this particular issue, perhaps it is one for another day.