Billy Lawless (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to welcome my brother, Gerard, from Dubai, my brother-in-law, Patrick O'Toole, and all my friends from Galway and Cork - my mother was from Clonakilty.

I welcome the announcement by the Government to publish the general scheme of the Bill that will facilitate a referendum on whether the Irish diaspora should be entitled to vote in our presidential elections. As someone who has campaigned to allow the diaspora to vote in our elections for many years I am absolutely delighted that this question will now be put to the people.

I do not intend to address the myths and fears surrounding this referendum but instead speak to what kind of message a "Yes" vote would send to the world and the Irish community living throughout the globe. We spend a great deal of time in this country rightly expressing the pride we feel in giving a cead míle fáilte to all those who visit our shores and in how that welcome contributes to our world famous tourism industry that supports tens of thousands of jobs and enriches communities throughout the country.

When our country was on the floor and net emigration began to rise again for the first time since the 1980s, foreign direct investment and tourism were what kept our economic engine from complete collapse. Our new and old diaspora gave us hope of what was possible. In September 2009 some 13% of the country was unemployed. Ireland's economy was falling rapidly at a rate of -7.1%. For the first time since 1995 more people left Ireland than moved here. However, in the middle of this state of hopelessness Ireland hosted its first ever global Irish economic forum. It blended major global businesses, thriving members of the Irish diaspora and some of our domestic champions to forge a vision of the future and of how Ireland was going to exit its economic nightmare. This confidence espoused hope for our future and ultimately laid the seeds for what was to be the bounty of our recovery: a diet of foreign investment and tourism.

As a nation we have always done better when we open our minds, hearts and island. It is in this context that I would like the referendum to be framed. Connections to the diaspora create more jobs, enhance communities and strengthen diplomatic ties throughout the world. Ireland is up there with the best in the world at harnessing these ties to our benefit, but we are not the best and we could be better. The best countries give their diaspora real and meaningful voice. Rightly, in the recent local elections everyone living in the State was provided a vote, including those who may only have been in Ireland for a year or with the intention of staying only three years. How can we say to those across the globe who wake up in the morning and log on to www.rte.ie, gather in Irish pubs to watch the GAA championships, teach their children Irish dancing and hold passports to this country that they are forbidden from any democratic connection to our nation? What about our brothers and sisters in Northern Ireland who have been cast away by an English Government that cares little for the democratic desire to stay part of the European Union? This vote will ask the Irish people whether they wish to allow our diaspora a formal say every seven years in choosing who is to represent our State, our island and our nation. As far as I am concerned, the Irish of the diaspora are just as Irish as every man and woman sitting in this House. I relish the chance to play a role in fighting for their voice to be heard in our democracy. I urge the Government to publish the scheme and then the Bill and to let us have this referendum in October.