Billy Lawless (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This is disappointing. I ask the Government to reconsider holding the referendum at a much earlier stage.

On Sunday last, along with a number of organisations, I attended a rally in Daley Plaza in Chicago to protest in solidarity with the Muslim immigrant community that has been unfairly targeted by President Trump's unconstitutional executive order. Speaking at that rally Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois said: "Whether they come from Damascus, Syria or Ireland or from Colombia or South America, immigrants who work hard and love this nation ought to have a way to earn their citizenship." This is the immigrant community that I know; the diaspora that I represent. They care not just about the sum of their own parts but also of others. These are the voices that will be reflected in future presidential elections in Ireland if the referendum passes. I ask that the Government give these people their voices sooner rather than later.