Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. Molaim Sinn Féin as ucht an rúin seo a chur os comhair na Dála. Caithfimid, i gcomhthéacs an ullmhaithe d’athrú bunreachtúil, smaoineamh anois faoin gcaoi a bhfuil muid ag caitheamh le saoránaigh na hÉireann ó Thuaidh.

We in the Social Democrats support the extension of the franchise for the presidential election to both recent emigrants and to those Irish people living in Northern Ireland. We support a united Ireland. As the Good Friday Agreement recognises the birthright of people in the North, and as the constitutional convention recommended - as we have heard - the extension of the vote to those people, we feel this motion goes some way to addressing that.

Irish people in the Six Counties feel ignored. At times, they feel invisible and this is one way we can show they are valued and they are seen by us in Dáil Éireann. However, there are some points which we need to consider in the context of this motion and the broader debate and that is what I will use my time on today. Specifically, there are huge flaws in our electoral register which need to be addressed in order to make this, or indeed any big changes like this, workable. Requiring citizens on this island who we know reside here to register is, in itself, disenfranchising. We also cannot forget that in this discussion, due to the twenty-seventh amendment, some people who are born here and who have spent their whole lives here are not entitled to vote in anything beyond local elections. Finally, I make the point that extending this particular franchise should not indicate in any way that the presidential election itself does not matter.

There are flaws within the electoral register we need to address to make the extension of the franchise workable. Obviously, the establishment of an Coimisiún Toghcháin and the work it has done to date is very welcome but we know there is a huge workload for it to deal with to get to where we need to be. Duplication of registrations on county registers and between counties in an issue, with no system for accounting for death and emigration. We have a disjointed system, handled by local authorities which do not have the resources or the systems to manage some of these gaps in the register. They need better resourcing and better logistical support, which will inform this key pillar of our democracy. The commission has taken huge steps in making it easier to register and to check and update details but there is a huge amount more that needs to be done.

Requiring citizens on this island who we know reside here to register is, in itself, disenfranchising. Every barrier between a citizen and a ballot box is another attempt to exclude. I understand there has to be verification mechanisms and I understand the importance of the integrity of elections, but we are an outlier with our need to take the step to register to vote. The deadlines around that registration are also an issue. All of that curbs people's ability to participate in our democracy and I believe it is something we have to address.

We then come to those who are born here, live here and who cannot vote because Article 2 of our Constitution states: "It is the entitlement and birthright of every person born in the island of Ireland, which includes its islands and seas, to be part of the Irish Nation.". Despite this, some people who are born here, have spent their whole lives here and who know no other home cannot vote in presidential elections or general elections because their parents are not Irish. We celebrate the new Irish, we are grateful for their contributions but we will not include them, just as we celebrate Irish citizens in the North who we do not include. All of this happens despite the Twenty-seventh amendment allowing for us to extend these people citizenship as their birthright, as we have heard from other speakers. When we talk about the principles of franchise, they must flow from that principle laid down in Article 2 - an Irish nation which is inclusive where, no matter your background, if this your home, you belong here.

An extension of franchise should not indicate that the presidential election does not matter. Sometimes we hear this commentary that the role of the President is not important anyway and that it is a figurehead position with little function. That argument undermines key principles of how our State is structured because the role of the President speaks to our separation of powers and how important it is to build in those checks and balances. The President is the guardian of Bunreacht na hÉireann and she or he is the representative of the Irish people. The office of Uachtarán na hÉireann represents who we are, who we want to be and what message we wish to send to the world.

In the past 30 years, we have seen how powerful that voice can be for all Irish people in the South and North, and indeed across the world. Therefore, this is not a signal of a vote granted in a meaningless election but something that is important and that sees us embark on a journey towards enfranchisement.

We must consider all elements of the Good Friday Agreement. When we base our discussion on this, we also need to address any concerns over cross-community engagement, which is crucial, and legal clarity over jurisdiction.

We support this motion. As a graduate of Ulster University and somebody with a network that spans our internal border, I feel very strongly about this issue. There is so much ignorance in the South about the experience of people in Northern Ireland, who really do feel invisible and discounted by Dáil Éireann at times. The motion goes some way towards addressing that invisibility, so I welcome it.

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