Colette Kelleher (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister back to the House. I support Sinn Féin's motion today. I speak as a former member of the diaspora who lived in England for 17 years and as somebody who always considered herself part and parcel of this country during that time in London. I also speak as the mother of a son who lives in France. He was born in London and is an Irish passport holder. He went to primary school in London, secondary school in Cork and university abroad. He is also somebody who is fully a member of the country and would sign up to what Senator McDowell outlined in terms of supporting the State.

I support the motion because of the urgency of the situation. This matter has been around for a number of years. It has been three years since the publication of the fifth report of the Constitutional Convention recommending an amendment of the Constitution to give citizens resident outside the State the right to vote in presidential elections at Irish embassies or otherwise. The Constitutional Convention was established by the Houses in good faith to examine a number of important issues. It was expected that the Government would consider the decisions of the Convention and respond in due course. The Government has done the Convention and the Houses a disservice by not adequately responding to this report or holding the agreed referendum. A year and a half ago, on 10 March 2015, the then-Minister of State, Jimmy Deenihan, in an address to the Seanad on the subject of Global Irish: Ireland’s Diaspora Policy said:

Since my appointment, I have travelled extensively, and the message from our citizens overseas is the same the world over. They want to deepen their engagement with and connection to Ireland and play a more active role in Irish society and they feel that voting would give expression to that desired connection ... The Government has asked Minister Kelly in co-operation with Minister Flanagan and myself to analyse these issues and report back to Government and that is what we will do.

Three months later in the DáiI, the Taoiseach said:

Deputies will be aware that the Government made the point in its recent diaspora strategy that it is necessary to analyse the full range of practical and policy issues that would arise from any significant extension of the franchise before any decision could be made on the holding of a referendum. The analysis is being undertaken by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in co-operation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Minister of State with responsibility for the diaspora.

Six months later on 14 January 2016, the then-Minister of State, Ann Phelan, said:

The Government asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, in co-operation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Minister of State with responsibility for diaspora affairs, to analyse these issues and to report back to the Government in due course.

It has been three years since the report and almost two years since the Government said this issue would be examined. We are now at the end of what has been termed "ue course". There are important issues to address but they are not beyond the wit of clever civil servants, of whom we have many, and other wise heads, including in the universities. Let us not undermine the great work that was done by the Convention and the innovative thinking of the last Oireachtas. The approach taken has been praised internationally. The author David Van Reybrouck noted the following in an open letter published this week:

Look at Ireland, the most innovative democracy in Europe. A few weeks ago, a random sample of one hundred Irish citizens, drafted by lot, was brought together into a Citizens’ Assembly. This is a country that trusts its citizens, instead of fearing them.

We should continue to trust our citizenry and extend that trust to our diaspora by bringing forward the measures recommended by the Constitutional Convention. We must be given that crucial timeframe, which is why I am supporting the motion.