Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and commend our Sinn Féin colleagues on tabling the motion which I am happy to support on behalf of the Labour Party. We will oppose the Government amendment. I have three personal reasons before coming to the broader reasons for why I think the House should support the motion. I was a member of the diaspora briefly myself. Like Senator Kelleher, I lived in London and recall remaining deeply interested in Irish politics and Irish affairs for the few years I was abroad.

Like Senator McDowell, I am also elected by members of the diaspora, among others. I am happy to say that of the 50,000 plus voters on the Trinity College electoral register a large number are resident overseas in places as far flung as the Pacific islands and all across the world. I know from e-mails and communications with those voters just how engaged they are. We should not forget that six Members of this House are elected, at least in part, by Members of the diaspora.

I was proud to lead the Labour Party delegation in the Constitutional Convention which voted, as we know by a 78% majority in 2013, in support of the principle of extension of voter rights in presidential elections. Like Senator Buttimer, we all found the experience profoundly moving. I recall, in particular that weekend, there were not only very helpful presentations from academics such as Dr. Theresa Reidy of UCC and groups such as the Irish in Britain emigrant group, which I have met, but we also heard very powerful testimony by video link from Irish citizens resident abroad seeking the right to vote. They made very direct personal appeals to us and to the 100 members of the convention. I found that very moving.

I wish to deal briefly with the Government amendment which, as Senator McDowell said, seeks to procrastinate or delay further consideration despite the fact that it has been three years since the recommendation of the convention. It could be done in a much more straightforward manner. Article 12.2.1° of the Constitution provides that the President shall be elected by direct vote of the people. Article 12.2.2° goes on to say that every citizen who has the right to vote at an election for Members of Dáil Éireann shall have the right to vote at an election for President. It would be very straightforward for a Government committed to the principle adopted by the convention to seek to put an amendment before the people. It would require a constitutional referendum to provide in a facilitative way for the Oireachtas to prescribe that eligibility to vote at an election for President could be extended to certain categories of Irish citizen resident outside the jurisdiction. In other words, it would leave the detail of the limitations or restrictions on voting rights to legislation, as is currently done. When one looks at Article 12 it is apparent that legislation must set out in detail the mechanism of presidential elections and it is set out in very broad brush terms currently in the Constitution. The reference is to the "direct vote of the people" and then it goes on to say citizens have the right to vote for the Dáil. There is nothing to stop us seeking to amend the Constitution in broad brush terms to extend diaspora voting rights without needing to prescribe within the Constitution exactly the nature of those voting rights.

I will turn briefly to how voting rights could be dealt with in practice because, again, the objections from the Government side have been largely practical and logistical. Dr. Theresa Reidy told us in 2013 that the International Foundation for Electoral Systems reported in 2012 that the cost of in-country voting is about $1 to $2 per person, using American measures, but for out-of-country voting costs rise to between $5 and $20 per person. The way the costs are addressed differ depending on the nature of the voting rights extended but based on a 2012 report they can be as low as $5 per person.

Other speakers have referred to the limitations placed, for example, to require that a citizen resident abroad would hold only an Irish passport. In Canada a citizen can only have been resident abroad for up to five years and must declare an intention to return. In the United Kingdom that is extended to a 15-year period and in Germany to 25 years. We know that 45 European countries and 125 countries worldwide have some form of emigrant rights, but usually limited in some way, for example, temporal limitation such as that I have mentioned in terms of timing. When we spoke with the Irish in Britain and the Federation of Irish Societies group they were very supportive of the idea that there might be, for example, a ten-year or 15-year limit on voting rights.

Presidents such as President Mary Robinson have spoken powerfully about the need to recognise and acknowledge the diaspora. They have spoken of the 70 million people worldwide who claim Irish descent. In fact, when one looks at the passport holders resident abroad the number is greatly reduced to approximately 3 million but that does not mean one would have 3 million extra people voting. In the United Kingdom there are 27 million people resident abroad holding British passports who are eligible to vote but in 2013 only 23,000 of those had registered to vote in the British general election and only a proportion of that number cast their vote. The numbers will fall when one considers the requirement to register. That is an important point.

There are also other practical points about how one can keep costs down in terms of how one operates the vote. It could be done by post. We have seen other systems used, for example, where people have to vote in person at their national embassy. Relatively recently I was very moved one Sunday when I passed by an embassy in Dublin which had a long queue outside. From recollection it was the Romanian embassy. The people were Romanians resident in this country who still held their own passports and they were queuing up to be able to exercise their right to vote. All of us have friends resident in Ireland who are American citizens and who are able to exercise their right to vote despite living here in Ireland. There are very active groups in Ireland such as Democrats Abroad which organised events to ensure that people resident here holding an American passport would still be engaged in the US election process.

The logistical and practical arguments against the extension of voting rights can be easily overcome. Political will is what is required to declare an intention to endorse this motion. I am disappointed the Government has tabled an amendment because it would have been nice for the Seanad to be able to come together and support a motion in broad brush terms to support the idea that we would extend voting rights to the diaspora while recognising that there have to be restrictions and limitations placed on that, but that could be done through legislation. All that is required is a facilitative amendment to the Constitution to enable the Oireachtas to pass the legislation. President Michael D. Higgins, former President Mary Robinson and others have reminded us just how important it is that we recognise and acknowledge the diaspora and this gives us a meaningful way in which to do that.