Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I refer to English citizens not being allowed to vote in constitutional referendums in the Republic although they can vote in national elections. That is an issue on which the two countries should work more closely. Some younger English citizens were not aware of that restriction and had the ignominious experience of going to the polling situation as usual on the day of a constitutional referendum but not being allowed to vote. Worse still, they are marked on the register, which is widely available, as British citizens. There is no need for such information to be so widely available or for such a differentiation to be made. What is Mr. Holder's view in that regard? Could we not have closer harmonious co-operation with our nearest neighbour to reciprocate that particular right? That would be a positive direct step in harnessing better relations.

I invite Mr. Holder to comment on the view of Lord David Trimble, whom I am old enough to remember as the former leader of Ulster unionism, as expressed in an article he wrote about rights in Northern Ireland and which was published in The Irish Times in February. I happen to disagree with his view. The article states:

My primary objection to the protocol is that it changes fundamentally the constitutional relationship between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. The laws that will apply to the economy, the environment, agriculture, workers rights, and regulations covering everything from building standards to use of weedkillers, no longer will be made at our parliament in Westminster or the local Assembly in Belfast. They will instead be determined by a foreign authority in Brussels.

The protocol lists 70 pages of EU laws to which Northern Ireland must adhere. This amounts to tens of thousands of separate regulations. In addition, all future EU laws on which no one in the UK or Northern Ireland is able even to discuss – let alone vote on – will apply to Northern Ireland.

I do not believe Lord Trimble is correct. Rather, I believe there is a golden opportunity to have the best of both worlds for Northern Ireland. I do not concur with him in this regard but there is a grain of reality in what he is saying. Has the time not come, with the new dispensation and the post-Brexit island of Ireland, for that voice of the Six Counties to move to centre stage? The only way I see of accommodating it with Britain having left the EU is for elected representatives of Northern Ireland to be formally involved in our EU committees in the Republic of Ireland, our Oireachtas committees and, with the assistance of a constitutional referendum and in order to give Northern Ireland voices a say in the EU on the island of Ireland, they should have a formalised place in the Seanad and the Dáil. According to Lord Trimble, the situation in the Six Counties is really bad. Even if it is not half as bad as that, I do not believe it is, unionists should not be worried as their position is cemented in the Good Friday Agreement and there will be no constitutional change without consent in Northern Ireland. I still think there is a golden opportunity to break down narrow tribalism. After all, a majority in Northern Ireland supported staying in the EU, although that is not what Lord Trimble said. We would welcome that voice and we will facilitate the Six Counties. I would be open minded on the matter and play my part as a Senator in promoting a formalised voice for all in Northern Ireland that can feed into the EU in the manner I outlined, that is, through Oireachtas committees, the Seanad and the Dáil. Has Mr. Holder considered that? Would he care to respond to Lord Trimble's remarks on those rights being totally usurped?