Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We, in Fianna Fáil, believe that we can give those people that future that we all want to see. We do not believe in an Ireland for those who have received all the opportunities. We do not believe in an Ireland for the privileged. We do not believe in an Ireland for the few. We believe in an Ireland for everyone.

As regards voting rights, the most fundamental right of any citizen in any republic is the right to vote and in his speech, the Taoiseach did not state categorically whether or not it extended to all the citizens of this nation. This nation is not defined by its geographic territory. It is defined by its people. Those in the North and those overseas, who combined number nearly 3 million people, currently are not entitled to vote in any election in the State, bar one. If one happens to be a graduate of Trinity College or the National University of Ireland, and in Sydney, one is entitled to vote for this House. That is an Ireland of privilege. It is not an Ireland for all. It is certainly not an Ireland of opportunity where everybody, regardless of gender or creed, should have the right to vote, which is the fundamental right of any citizen of any state.

I welcome the Taoiseach's announcement that he would like to see Senators elected from the North represented in this House from both sides of the community but I want to know how he believes that will be achieved and how it can be done. Has there been engagement with both communities in advance of that announcement because I can imagine that Ms Arlene Foster, MLA, and others would be concerned about that? That is about the future of this country.

What is the Taoiseach's vision? The Taoiseach has outlined this vision for the future of this island in various interviews, as has the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney. They both would like to see in their lifetime, as Deputy Coveney pointed out, in relation to another referendum that we would hope would fulfil Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution which, one would imagine, would mean that everybody would have a right to vote. A hundred years on from giving women the right to vote in elections for which we applaud ourselves, we still fundamentally to do extend that right to everybody who is entitled to be a citizen of the State under the Constitution.