Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Tairgim:

Go gceadófar go dtabharfar isteach Bille dá ngairtear Acht chun an Bunreacht a leasú.

I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Constitution.

Currently, only Irish citizens can vote in referenda. This Bill would enable a referendum to extend the franchise for voting in future constitutional referenda to citizens of other nations who allow reciprocal voting in their constitutional referenda to citizens of Ireland.

As the United Kingdom is the only country that currently extends such voting rights to Irish citizens, the Bill would facilitate the extension of reciprocal voting rights to British citizens in referenda in line with the spirit of recognition of both sets of identities enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement.

On 18 September, residents of Scotland will go to the polls in a referendum to decide whether Scotland may become an independent country. Irish citizens living in Scotland may vote in that referendum.

Citizens of the Republic of Ireland resident in the UK will be also eligible to vote in the planned referendum on the future of the UK within the European Union.

It is only right that the Irish people should be allowed to consider offering British citizens a comparable vote in Irish referenda.

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