Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)

One hundred and forty-one countries enable their diaspora to vote. People living in my constituency and members of my own family can vote in the presidential elections. It is mind-boggling that Irish citizens in the North and our international diaspora cannot vote in presidential elections. The Minister of State said this will be looked at and that there is so much we agree on. We have to stop commentating on this and put it right. It is plainly wrong that we have not enacted it so far.

President Higgins rightly cited the Irish diaspora as one of the greatest resources. In Global Ireland - Ireland’s Diaspora Strategy 2020-2025, the Government commits to holding a referendum on the extension of the franchise. We are almost at the end of 2025, so where is that referendum? The question that people ask me is what the Government is afraid of. What is it afraid of in extending the franchise?

A citizen must mean a citizen. Being an Irish citizen must mean more than being entitled to hold an Irish passport. It brings with it implicit rights, or it should do, and one of those rights should be enabling Irish citizens in the North to vote for their own President. It is lunacy to think that you can be President but you cannot vote for yourself. We are making fools of ourselves globally that we cannot do that in this day and age. It is time for action. We need presidential voting rights for Irish citizens in the North and for the Irish diaspora.

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