Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the work the Minister of State has committed to do on this issue. The work is necessary and I appreciate that it is not a simple matter. However, it needs to be done. There is a huge onus on us. I appreciate that the diaspora are in a unique set of circumstances and I do not mean to be dismissive of that, but it would be relatively easy for me to go to St. Matthew's primary school in Seaforde Street in east Belfast to cast my vote for the President. Perhaps, in parallel with those broader issues, given the size of the diaspora internationally, we could run a dedicated consideration through the North-South Ministerial Council and our colleagues in the Executive and Electoral Commission in the North on how to utilise the existing facilities there. They are ready to be utilised through co-operation and a good working relationship with the Minister of State's colleagues in the North. We need to put a bit of fire under this, expedite it and ensure that we are not lost in bureaucracy, albeit I appreciate what the Minister of State points out. Without putting a timeframe on it per se, it would be useful if the Minister of State would consider ensuring that this does not run perpetually so that we end up sitting here for another 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement and after the Constitutional Convention. Who knows, we might even have another Northern President in that time. What we should definitely have is our vote.