Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This House is about ideas. We get them every day and the Minister of State is welcome to share in them all. This brings me to the great J.M. Keynes who said:

I am sure that the power of vested interests is vastly exaggerated compared with the gradual encroachment of ideas. Not ... But, soon or late, it is ideas, not vested interests, which are dangerous for good or evil.

This country surely needs ideas as we attempt to rebuild from the disasters of 2008. That is why I came here. We have worked every day on that and to be rebuked by one's own Taoiseach and to see what he is doing to his own party is a very strange experience indeed. I think it really does require him to reassess the situation. Article 2 of the Constitution, since the referendum of 10 April 1998, reads:

It is the 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. That is also the entitlement of all persons otherwise qualified in accordance with law to be citizens of Ireland. Furthermore, the Irish nation cherishes its special affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad who share its cultural identity and heritage.

I will return to this article in a moment. Article 3.1 reads:

It is the firm will of the Irish Nation, in harmony and friendship, to unite all the people who share the territory of the island of Ireland, in all the diversity of their identities and traditions, recognising that a united Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people, democratically expressed, in both jurisdictions in the island. Until then, the laws enacted by the Parliament established by this Constitution shall have the like area and extent of application as the laws enacted by the Parliament that existed immediately before the coming into operation of this Constitution.

Our constituents in Northern Ireland had voting rights before 10 April 1998. They are being denied them by this. This was their say in the Oireachtas and they value it hugely. I have spoken to both Unionists and Nationalists in Northern Ireland and they said there has been no consultation on that aspect. The Northern Ireland Peace Agreement, Article 1, paragraphs (v) and (vi), reads:

(v) affirm that whatever choice is freely exercised by a majority of the people of Northern Ireland, the power of the sovereign government with jurisdiction there shall be exercised with rigorous impartiality on behalf of all the people in the diversity of their identities and traditions and shall be founded on the principles of full respect for, and equality of, civil, political, social and cultural rights, of freedom from discrimination for all citizens, and of parity of esteem and of just and equal treatment for the identity, ethos and aspirations of both communities;
(vi) recognise the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose, and accordingly confirm that their right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both Governments and would not be affected by any future change in the status of Northern Ireland.

They are Irish citizens entitled to vote in Oireachtas elections and that right is being taken away. The Agreement also reads:

The participants also note that the two Governments have accordingly undertaken in the context of this comprehensive political agreement, to propose and support changes in, respectively, the Constitution of Ireland and in British legislation relating to the constitutional status of Northern Ireland.

The Government is amending the Constitution to undermine people who live in Northern Ireland, having given an undertaking that it would support their situation. The rights they had before we signed the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998 are being undermined by the way the Government is conducting itself.

I want to find other sections in the Agreement that may be of interest. Another section reads: "the Irish Government, to develop consultation, co-operation and action within the island of Ireland - including through implementation on an all-island and cross-border basis - on matters of mutual interest within the competence of the Administrations, North and South". There has been no such consultation on this issue, which is a serious one for people who want to carry Irish passports and want to vote in Seanad elections. The Agreement, on page 14, reads: "Other arrangements for the agreed co-operation will also commence contemporaneously with the transfer of powers to the Assembly." We should have been co-operating with the Assembly on this. It goes on to read:

The implementation bodies will have a clear operational remit. They will implement on an all-island and cross-border basis policies agreed in the Council.

We always agreed before now that residents of Northern Ireland could vote in this election. This Bill changes that. The Agreement also reads: "Any further development of these arrangements to be by agreement in the Council and with the specific endorsement of the Northern Ireland Assembly [this Bill has been nowhere near the Northern Ireland Assembly] and Oireachtas [while it is here], subject to the extent of the competences and responsibility of the two Administrations."

They had votes and we took their votes. We brought them into the NUI in Merrion Square and down to Trinity. We counted them and they elected people here, but that is now being undermined.

On page 14 of the document, it states

It is understood that the North/South Ministerial Council and the Northern Ireland Assembly are mutually inter-dependent, and that one cannot successfully function without the other.

I do not have a legal training but I am reading this into the record, as Senator Byrne is also. He believes that we have valid points. It is a case of having leaped before we looked.

On page 29, it states

If difficulties arise which require remedial action across the range of institutions, or otherwise require amendment of the British-Irish Agreement or relevant legislation, the process of review will fall to the two Governments in consultation with the parties in the Assembly. Each Government will be responsible for action in its own jurisdiction.

I understand, therefore, one has to get the agreement of the Northern Ireland Assembly to withdraw those voting rights. One might get it from people who are as partitionist as the Taoiseach. They might be very pleased. Those of us who support closer links between the two communities, however - as most of my Northern voters do - will be extremely disappointed.

Annex 2 states:

The British and Irish Governments declare that it is their joint understanding that the term "the people of Northern Ireland" in paragraph (vi) of Article 1 of this Agreement means, for the purposes of giving effect to this provision, all persons born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British citizen, an Irish citizen or is otherwise entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence.

I have raised this point before. Even from the point of view of good neighbourliness, we should now take up these discussions with the people concerned. If the Government side wins - and I do not believe the Minister of State is neutral - they are being deprived of voting rights they currently have and which are protected by this agreement of 10 April 1998, and the two new Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution. They will be deprived of those rights in a referendum in which they will have no vote. That should quickly bring the Government to its senses. It should realise the harm it is doing not just in my constituency but also in the other constituencies.

On this morning's Order of Business, we welcomed the appointment of Richard Haas as the US peace envoy to Northern Ireland. We need more and better links with Northern Ireland. We also need to show some respect for people who are Irish citizens there and who vote in the NUI and TCD Seanad constituencies.

I am proud to speak against the abolition day because I do not want it to happen. Abolition day will be a tragedy for this country. It has not been properly thought out and will do serious damage to the constitutional rights of people living in this State. In addition, it will undermine the constitutional rights of people living in Northern Ireland who thought their rights were protected by the agreement of 10 April 1998.

The Minister of State should seriously reconsider the matter. This is a shameful day. People spent so much time and effort in trying to build up contacts between both parts of the island, yet on abolition day we are being asked to abolish Oireachtas voting rights of all kinds for people who live in Northern Ireland.