Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)

Ba mhaith liom cuidiú leis an rún atá os ár gcomhar. Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire. Bhí mé ag déanamh amach an tseachtain seo caite go raibh imní orm nach raibh sé feicthe agam le tamall ach is breá an rud é a fheiceáil sa Teach arís. Cuirim céad fáilte roimhe, go háirithe go bhfuil sé anseo chun an cheist fíor-thábhachtach seo a phlé.

Is ceist í an náisiúnacht a théann go croí agus tá sé an-ghar do mo chroí féin. Is duine mise a rugadh agus a tógadh i Sasana, ach níor bhreathnaigh mise orm féin ariamh mar Shasanach. Tháinig ár gclann abhaile, beirt thuismitheoir as Éirinn. D'fhan beirt den cheathrar clainne anseo in Éirinn agus d'imigh beirt anonn. Ní fhéadfainn-se a rá go bhfuil mise níos Éireannaigh ná níos gaelaí ná an bheirt deartháir liom atá ina gcónaí i Londain. An fhadhb atá ann ná go bhfuil cead agamsa vótáil le haghaidh Uachtarán na hÉireann ach níl aon chead acu siúd. Tá sé sin go hiomlán mícheart agus mí-chóir.

Tá ceisteanna pearsanta mar sin ag go leor daoine ar an oileán seo agus thar lear. Táimid ag iarraidh aitheantas a thabhairt dóibh siúd ins an díospóireacht inniu. Táimid ag súil go mbeidh an Teach sásta tacú lenár rún.

In 1990, President Mary Robinson lit a candle in the window of Áras an Uachtaráin to light the way home for the hundreds and thousands of Irish citizens abroad, many of whom had left during the economic crises of the 1980s. It was a wonderful gesture, simple yet poignant, extending a hand from this State to reach out to our people everywhere. Consider how much the Irish abroad, many of whom have left during our contemporary economic crisis, would be brought closer to home by giving them a vote for the presidency.

The crucial aspect of the motion is that we are proposing to extend the franchise to Irish citizens living abroad. Consider that point. We are not merely talking about Irish people, but Irish citizens who are entitled to expect legal protection and support from the State. This begs the question of why they should not be allowed to vote. It is a logic correlative of citizenship.

It is entirely reasonable to allow our Irish citizens abroad to vote in presidential elections. We should take the opportunity of a constitutional convention to explore such issues. This is not a divisive or controversial proposal, as such an idea has elicited the broad support of many commentators, representatives of most shades of political opinion in Ireland and most political parties represented in the Oireachtas.

Fine Gael's New Politics document states, "We also propose that Irish citizens living abroad should be allowed to vote in presidential elections, subject to certain conditions". I have heard Fine Gael representatives, such as Deputy Brian Hayes, speaking on this topic and I commend Fine Gael's position in this regard.

Likewise, the Labour Party has regularly committed itself to supporting voting rights for those Irish citizens who are living and working abroad. Former Labour Party Deputy and entrant to the presidential election, Michael D. Higgins, spoke with passion and vigour on this issue at a recent conference in London, and proposed the extension of voting rights. Other Labour Party representatives have spoken in support of the idea. Deputy Ciarán Lynch stated:

People who have been forced to leave this country in search of work are justifiably angry and should not be denied the chance to vote on how their country is run. Currently, the only people entitled to an absentee vote are civil servants and military personnel who are working out of the country. We want this to be extended to all emigrants, at least during their first five years out of the country.

While the Green Party is no longer with us in this Chamber, I recall that its members were of a similar view to myself, the Labour Party and Fine Gael. Deputy Ciarán Cuffe stated that many people leaving Ireland today do not intend the move to be a long-term or permanent. He said he believed that all Irish citizens who have contributed so much to the State and wish to have a genuine stake in the future political direction of the country should not automatically lose their right to vote once they leave the country.

Ógra Fianna Fáil, the youth wing of Fianna Fáil, in common with the Sinn Féin youth wing, has campaigned in the past for all-Ireland voting rights, to which voting rights for the diaspora would be a logical correlation. A campaign was launched in November 2010 when Senator Byrne was, I think, an honorary chairman of Ógra Fianna Fáil. I welcome this opportunity to hear, in a concrete way, Fianna Fáil's position on this important issue. I hope for Fianna Fáil Senators' support for the Sinn Féin motion.

The youth wing of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, SDLP, has also campaigned to extend the franchise to citizens living beyond our territory. Margaret Ritchie, leader of the SDLP, has signalled her support for the idea. She said, "The call for residents of the North to be given the same voting rights as people in the South has been a long-standing policy of the SDLP and is in line with our commitment to uniting people on the island".

To the list of supporters of this cause I add Dublin City Council, which unanimously passed a motion to support the extension of the franchise to those living in the North in 2003, along with Newry and Mourne District Council. An Oireachtas committee also added its support. After the Good Friday Agreement, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, instructed the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution to consider how the people of the Six Counties might play "a more active part in national political life". The committee recognised, in its recommendations, that the most obvious and immediately inclusive area would be in extending voting rights in presidential elections to all Irish citizens living on the island of Ireland in keeping with the spirit and letter of the Good Friday Agreement as contained in the amended Article 2 of the Constitution.

Regrettably, it is nine years and two Dálaí since that was proposed, and yet we have seen no action on the part of the Government. Last but not least, there is support for the proposal among Irish citizens living in the North and abroad. Some Senators will have heard the presentation by One Vote One Voice yesterday, as mentioned by Senator Cullinane, and I am aware that there is great enthusiasm for this among Irish citizens in the North, in Irish centres abroad and in Irish homes from Cricklewood to Boston and Perth, and very likely in Beijing and New Delhi. There is certainly support for it from my two brothers. So this is a popular idea, which has support from right across the political spectrum, and why would that not be?

Consider the case of the emigrant. Indeed, consider my own case. People leaving Ireland today do not intend it to be permanent move. The economic downturn has resulted in hundreds of thousands of people leaving Ireland on a scale not seen for a generation, perhaps longer. However, like my parents, they share a common desire to return home again once economic and employment conditions improve. Surely these citizens, who very often include some of our brightest and best and who have contributed so much to Ireland and its people, have a stake in the running of our country and should have a say. They should not lose their right to vote or to contribute the Irish polity as soon as they leave these shores, especially as, given the current economic difficulties, they are unlikely to be leaving entirely of their own volition.

This is not a difficult or problematic proposal, nor is it a pie in the sky idea. A good illustration was offered in recent weeks in Dromalane Hill in Newry. The honorary Latvian consulate there was visited by hundreds of Latvian citizens to vote in their national election, yet they live and work with Irish citizens living in Ireland who simply cannot vote. This is an example that we can follow.

Táimid ag cur an rúin seo chun cinn agus táimid ag súil go mbeidh tacaíocht aige ó na páirtithe ar fad atá anseo. Mar atá léirithe ag na ráitis atá déanta ag gach páirtí, tá sé curtha in iúil cheana féin ag na páirtithe uilig gurb é seo a bpolasaí. Beimid ag súil lena dtacaíocht don rún.