Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response and thank Deputy Hannigan for the way in which he set out the committee's position. I was the Fianna Fáil representative on the committee. Like others, we participated in a full and frank way in an effort to improve the position as it relates to the capacity of Irish citizens abroad to continue to participate in our electoral democracy.

The right to vote is something that was hard won, and that should underpin all our views on this matter. When citizens, in many cases through no fault of their own, find themselves outside the State to work, live and have gainful employment, they should not ultimately be disenfranchised of the right to continue to participate in the development of this democracy. Many of their forefathers were part of the founding of the State, and it would be right that we in elected office try to ensure for the future that this issue is addressed.

My party fully supports the recommendations of the committee. We are very much of a mind that there is a necessity to establish the electoral commission that would ensure the implementation of the recommendations set out, namely, that the Government accepts the principle of extending voting rights to Irish citizens abroad and that it should proceed to design a system that would be workable in an Irish context. I do not want to minimise the complications associated with that given our unique electoral system.

With regard to Irish citizens who reside in the European Union, my party believes we must find some way to ensure the rights derived from their citizenship, not only of Ireland but of the European Union, are respected. Fianna Fáil agrees with the European Commission recommendations that in instances in which member states' policies limit the rights of nationals to vote in national elections based exclusively on a residence condition, member states should enable their nationals who make use of their right to free movement and residence within the European Union to demonstrate a continuing interest in the political life in the member state of which they are nationals, including through an application to remain registered on the electoral roll, and by doing so to retain their right to vote.

The European Commission proposal to make it easier for Irish citizens within the Union to retain their voting rights in Irish elections is a welcome development. However, the implementation of this proposal must be examined carefully before any rash decisions are taken merely to meet the concerns expressed by the Commission. That is why an electoral commission of our own would be best placed to tease that out. I was taken to some extent by the surveys to which the Minister of State referred. We should have moved beyond that position and should leave it to an electoral commission to implement the recommendations as set out.

It must be acknowledged that Ireland is unusual in the increasingly globalised world in not allowing the majority of its overseas citizens any say in the political process. Members of the armed forces and the diplomatic service are able to vote in Dáil elections, while only NUI and Trinity College graduates can vote in a certain section within Seanad elections. Beyond these exceptions, only those who are ordinarily resident in Ireland may vote.

Currently, approximately 115 countries and territories, including almost all developed nations, have systems in place to allow their citizens abroad to vote. This number is growing. Even countries with high numbers of citizens abroad, such as Italy, as the Chairman of the committee stated, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, have recently allowed their expatriates to vote. Citizens of the United States, for example, can vote no matter how long they stay away, while citizens of Britain are disqualified after 15 years. Some countries, such as France, reserve seats in their parliaments for citizens who live abroad, while others vote in the constituencies in which they used to live. If we look at those countries and examine the systems they have invoked, we can learn from them. If Ireland is to embrace its citizens abroad, we must look at the logistics of how our voting system can be made to work to embrace the opinions of these citizens.

Fianna Fáil supports the idea of having a permanent, independent electoral commission which would be in charge of running all elections and referendums. We welcome the committee's recommendation to establish an electoral commission and to design a system that would be workable in the Irish context.

We believe it is vital for democracy that Irish citizens who are entitled to vote in our elections can vote. If people engage in the most important act of our democratic tradition, that of voting, this will enhance our democracy by consolidating the legitimacy of our parliamentary democracy.

It is no secret that I and, I imagine, many others in this House would also like to see a strengthening of our parliamentary democracy. While we are not unique, we are certainly among a small minority within the European Union where our Parliament is extremely weak and the Executive in effect holds all the aces. In the long term, we need to address this imbalance. It would improve and enhance the work of this House. It would make the House more reflective of society at large and would, perhaps, help to regain and rebuild the trust between Parliament generally and the citizens. Perhaps that work can be done by the Constitutional Convention at a later stage but it is certainly something that needs to be addressed in tandem with extending voting rights to citizens outside the State.

Qualitative studies seem to suggest there has been a loss of connection between parliamentarians and citizens. This is evident from the level of disenchantment over what might be referred to as the structures of Parliament. The Minister of State's Department might consider giving more powers to Members of Parliament in a broader way rather than having the Executive effectively retaining all the control, with much of the work in the Houses merely consisting of rubber-stamping.

We believe the recommendation by the committee to accept in principle that voting rights should be extended to Irish citizens abroad could be facilitated through our embassy network within the European Union in the first instance. It would ensure Irish citizens living and working outside Ireland, but within the European Union, would register with their local embassy. This would be an important part of ensuring embassies are in a position to remain in contact with and track the activities of our citizens abroad. The register should be required to be updated annually. Citizens seeking to vote from abroad should be obliged to select the constituency to which they have the closest connection. I have no doubt that establishing the criteria to ensure this process would be fair and balanced, and would not result in gerrymandering of any kind, would be contentious. This is important to prevent fraud and would act as a control measure. None the less, Fianna Fáil accepts that all relevant applications could be submitted electronically. Since we live in an environment in which electronic communication is far more prevalent, particularly among those who travel, an electronic submission would provide an appropriate means of access.

Fianna Fáil is broadly supportive of the recommendations outlined by the European Commission and those of the committee and it hopes the Government will use this opportunity to implement reform of our electoral system that will broaden participation, establish an independent electoral commission and, for the first time, grant substantial voting rights to all our citizens within the European Union. We hope it will consider extending these rights to citizens farther afield.

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