Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As such, it was very concerning when the chairperson of the committee, Danuta Hübner, MEP, said that what Mr. Verhofstadt was saying was amazing, because the Republic of Ireland is against the idea of giving the right to vote to nationals in "third countries". We have a problem here. To be clear, I hope that the chair of that committee is mistaken. I expect that our Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade would be very supportive of the idea of ensuring representation in the European Parliament for our citizens in the North. It is very important that we have clarity on that before we go into recess for the summer because we know that there is an open door from the EU Brexit negotiator to this idea and that the committee would be open to the idea. The committee, however, is under the impression that the Irish Government would not support it. It is very important that we hear from the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. In fairness, I expect he will endorse the idea and I expect that we will have all-party consensus around the idea. It is very important that we do not let ourselves slip into recess without clarity on that very important issue.