Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I, too, wish to extend a word of welcome to the ambassador. She is very welcome to the Seanad.

Earlier this week, we held the 61st plenary session of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. I must say that it was a very worthwhile endeavour, as it usually is. It is the first in-person plenary we have been able to hold since the start of the pandemic. While it was a much shorter event this time around, it allowed us a great opportunity to engage between institutions and parliamentarians right across these islands at such a crucial time globally but, indeed, here at home and between these islands as well. We have in this House a number of very committed members of that body. The work that it does sometimes gets overlooked. I propose that going forward, the relevant committees of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, which do some very good scrutiny work and engagement, would perhaps be able to be discussed and platformed in this institution. I will raise that issue with the Leader and hope to bring it to the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight at an appropriate time. I think that would be a good opportunity.

I tabled a Commencement matter this morning on the issue of the referendum to extend presidential voting rights to citizens outside the State. The Minister of State pretty much informed me of what I have known for some time now, which is that the referendum Bill is on the Order Paper and the Minister for Foreign Affairs will be sponsoring that legislation. Will the Leader use her good office to encourage the Minister and his Government colleagues to bring that Bill before the Oireachtas? We are about to head into the St. Patrick's Day celebrations and travel around the world to tell our diaspora just how much we value them and that they have a stake in the life of their home. We have committed to not leaving citizens in the North behind. This is a real and tangible way in which we can show citizens that they are valued and have a stake in the life of the nation. As the President said, he is not the President of a land mass but of the Irish people. It is only right, therefore, that Irish people wherever they reside, across Ireland or throughout the world, have the opportunity to vote. We could initiate that referendum Bill in this House. We have discussed this issue at length in previous Seanaid and there is support right across the House. This is a short, succinct Bill. In saying that, however, I am not advocating that we do anything haphazard. We need to ensure this referendum is won. We need to bring the same level of positivity, collaboration and inclusion to that referendum as we have seen with others in the past few years. I look forward to the Leader's response. Hopefully, it is something on which we can work going forward to ensure that Bill is done as speedily and efficiently as possible.