Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom cur leis an chomhbhrón atá déanta le lucht Fhianna Fáil anseo sa Seanad, le comhghleacaithe Manus Kelly i gComhairle Contae Dhún na nGall, leis a theaghlaigh agus leis a chairde ar fad.

As Sinn Féin spokesperson on the diaspora, I support what Senator Lawless had to say and I support him in his endeavours to give voice to our global diaspora here in the Houses of the Oireachtas. I have no doubt that all of us across this Chamber deeply value the role, contribution and input of the diaspora to Irish life. Many Senators will have been part of the diaspora and will have family members who are currently part of it. I refer to recent media commentary that I do not believe accurately reflects the feeling of connectivity and value that we have for our diaspora. Like Senator Lawless, while I would much prefer to light a candle than curse the dark, I have to take issue with some of the public utterances because we are going to come up against this ignorance over the next few months. Many people have made really hurtful, disparaging comments about our diaspora, some of which were levelled at people like me from the North. One columnist from The Irish Timesspoke about an anomaly in regard to what he described as "NI" citizens. There is no such thing as an "NI" citizen: there is only British or Irish designation in the North. The only anomaly that exists is the anomaly that partitions this country and does not allow people in the North to partake fully and equally in the rest of Irish politics. That is the anomaly we have to deal with. Members of the diaspora are not an anomaly. They contribute practically, tangibly, spiritually and politically to Irish life. We owe them completion of this job of work.

Members will all have received an invitation today from the Voice for Irish Citizens Abroad, VICA, campaign to attend the Dublin launch of its campaign on 10 July in the EPIC centre on the quays. I encourage them to attend so that we - Government, Opposition and Independent Members - can join together to ensure this referendum is won. My colleague, Senator Marshall, spoke on UTV last week where he said that no one has anything to fear from this referendum. That applies right across the board. None of us has anything to fear so let us go and win this referendum.