Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent Ireland Party)

I am a believer. I grew up believing there are Thirty-two Counties in Ireland, not Twenty-Six Counties. We are the island of Ireland. Call me old school; that is the way I was brought up. People from the North of Ireland can run for President but would not be able to vote for themselves. They are from Ireland. It is the island of Ireland. That is the bottom line. How many people who have left these shores and gone to Australia, Dubai and all the other countries are not citizens of the other countries? They hold an Irish passport. They are from Ireland and leave the country for five or six years to make a life for themselves or get a few pounds together to come back home. Are they allowed to vote in presidential elections if they are not in Ireland? They have left these shores because they could not be looked after here. They could not see a future for themselves and they could not see funding to allow them to build a life here, so they went to other countries. How many have left? Teachers, doctors and nurses are all leaving. They are Irish people with Irish passports. They also should be allowed to vote in presidential elections. I am 100% saying that if a person is Irish, they vote. If they are from Ireland and living abroad, they are Irish. If they are not a citizen of any other country, they are Irish and they should be entitled to vote. That is the way that Irish people should have it. I am old school, and I will always stay the way I am. There are Thirty-two Counties in Ireland, not Twenty-six Counties. I will treat it that way for as long as I have breath.

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