David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

-----and endorsed Sinn Féin and what we stand for and endorsed the record of Martin McGuinness and all those mentioned by Senator Mooney. Today's motion is not about Sinn Féin or any political party, whether Fianna Fáil or any of the Government parties. There is an attempt to overcomplicate the logic or the thrust of this motion. This motion is about extending voting rights to citizens in the North and to extending voting rights to citizens across the globe. Senator Ó Murchú spoke passionately about the nation and the concept of the Irish nation. Some Senators referred to a potential danger in the wording of the Sinn Féin motion which speaks about the Irish nation.

We make no apologies for believing, as of right, that the Irish nation involves people who live on the island of Ireland and Irish citizens who happen to live abroad. That is what the Irish nation is. Article 2 of the Constitution reads: "It is 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." Some members of the Labour Party forget what the 1916 Proclamation stood for and some members of those parties who have come into the House today with partitionist viewpoints forget that the 1916 Proclamation promised all the children of the nation a right to be part of the Irish nation and to be treated equally. That is what the 1916 Proclamation was about.