Billy Lawless (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will leave it for another day. Once told might be enough in this instance. I welcome my family and close friends from Chicago who are in the Gallery today. Last week I welcomed the announcement by the Government of its intention to publish the scheme of a Bill to facilitate a referendum on whether members of the diaspora should be entitled to vote in presidential elections. We have already seen the emergence of a number of myths designed to instil fear in an electorate that has shown itself time and again to be brave enough to ignore such misinformation and say "Yes". I am confident that this generation we will see through the scaremongering that has begun. One letter writer to The Sunday Timeslast weekend was concerned that the sheer number of Irish voters living abroad could "distort any election result". What does this person mean by "distort"? Did those who came home to vote in recent referenda distort the vote on those occasions? Did their willingness to catch boats, trains and planes home to express their democratic view on issues affecting their nation amount to a distortion of our values? I say, "Absolutely not".

Before the referendum, I urge Irish people to ask themselves what type of person is likely to turn up at the Irish Embassy in Washington or London to have their say in who should be the next President of Ireland? Is it someone who does not care about our nation or about what it means to be Irish in the 21st century? Or is it someone who actively wants to remain part of the Irish community even when not living on this island? The evidence from overseas is that those who take the bother of going to their embassy or exercising a postal vote are people who are actively interested in what is happening in their home country. It was recently reported in Australia that of those living abroad who were eligible to vote in recent elections in that country, just 16% chose to do so. If passed, this referendum will allow all eligible citizens to vote in Irish presidential elections. That opportunity will be taken up by those who engage in the campaign and with the presidential candidates vying for their vote and setting out a global image of Ireland.

We are among just three EU countries having a directly elected president which do not allow emigrants a say in elections for that office. I am extremely proud, as an Irishman and a European, that since joining the Union, Ireland has always championed its relationship with its diaspora as more than just one of economic transactions but, rather, as one comprising a community of ideas and nations. We should bring ourselves in line with our fellow European citizens who freely move and work across the Continent and allow their emigrants a vote in elections. Twenty-four European Union countries already do this. What is there to fear in our doing the same? Imagine the message we will send to the world if we say "Yes" in October just as our neighbour is shutting down its borders and making an historic mistake of catastrophic proportions? In Britain's scheduled exit from the Union, we will have an opportunity once again to show how broad are our shoulders and how open are our minds to what it truly means to be an Irish man or woman in 2019.