Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are talking about the opportunity to give our citizens overseas the right to vote. The Dáil will never give 800,000 passport holders living outside the State or citizens in the North the right to vote in a general election. We have an opportunity to reform this House. Senator Quinn pointed out that the Proclamation talks about giving equal rights and equal opportunities to all our citizens and this is the place to do so. I congratulate Senator Zappone, Senator Quinn, Mr. Joe O'Toole, Mr. Michael McDowell and Mr. Noel Whelan on bringing forward this Bill and Senator Crown on his Bill and all those who have worked on them. This is a real opportunity to extend the franchise to our citizens living overseas and if the House is not reformed, that opportunity will be missed.