John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not in a position to accept this amendment but I accept the point made by the Senator. We are carrying out an extensive exercise on reform of the register in general. Later this year, we will have a referendum on the issue of presidential election voting rights for citizens overseas. The report of the Seanad reform group recommends the possibility of extending the franchise to people living overseas. A lot of work is being, and will be, done over the next period on voting rights for different categories of people, be they Irish citizens or not. While I cannot accept the amendment, we will implement its spirit. I have no problem accepting the idea of a more thorough analysis of the voting entitlements of different categories of residents in the State and Irish citizens overseas.