Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise also as I was not present for the earlier part of the debate but I listened to much of it. There is no family that is not touched by emigration in this country and no party or politician for that matter has a monopoly on the views of the diaspora. We should give credit where it is due. The Taoiseach appointed a Minister of State with responsibility for the diaspora who is working extremely hard and reaching out to emigrants not only in the United States but all over the world as well. However, he went further than that; he gave the diaspora a voice in the House of Parliament for the first time ever through Senator Billy Lawless. To be fair, that has been acknowledged. They are major steps in Irish parliamentary appointments by An Taoiseach and at the very least it should be acknowledged. It is incorrect to say that the diaspora has no say, as has just been said in the previous contribution because it has been recognised at the highest level of the Government through the appointment of a Minister to represent and engage with the diaspora all over the world. Senator Billy Lawless is someone who resides in the United States of America, who has championed emigrants’ rights for many years, and who continues to work with all of us to try to advance their rights, be they voting rights or residency rights in the United States or other rights. We must give credit where it is due.

I have often heard criticism and condemnation of Ministers who travel around the world on St. Patrick’s weekend. I was one of those Ministers of State. In 2015 I fulfilled 70 engagements over three days with the diaspora in two cities in the United States. I was working from morning until night reaching out to the diaspora. At the same time I was aware of criticism expressed in some media back in Ireland. It was not an easy trip. It was packed with real engagement with the diaspora all over the world. I reject the criticism that the Government is giving the diaspora no say because the actions of An Taoiseach and those of Ministers and other representatives to date reflects a different picture.

I welcome what the Minister, Deputy Coveney, has put on the record of the House today. He has given a real commitment that he wants to extend the franchise to emigrants around the world but he has been very frank and honest in saying that one cannot do so unless one has the proper mechanisms in place. There are legitimate questions on qualification, registration, how the voting process would happen and how votes are counted among other issues. That is the case with any electoral process and we must work through it to ensure that it stands up to scrutiny, that it is constitutional and that we can provide for it in every technical and legal aspect. What the Minister is asking for is time to bring forward proposals that have been thought through so that when the measure is announced we can answer the questions of emigrants all over the world on where they can register, how they qualify and how and where they can vote. They are the very basics of any system of franchise.

I repeat - no politician or political party has a monopoly on the aspirations of the diaspora because they belong to all of us. Members of all of our families have emigrated throughout the years. Emigration is an unfortunate aspect of the history of this island nation that has experienced hard times over many generations but while some go, the good news is that others come back and as the economy recovers more are coming back, as shown by the CSO statistics. I support what the Minister put on the record today. He has appealed to Senators to give him more time. He has committed on the record to doing what has been sought. He proposes to introduce strong detailed proposals by the end of the first quarter of next year. I am willing to give him the space to do that and I urge others to do the same.