Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I dtús báire, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire agus táim ag súil go mór leis an bplé agus le ráiteas agus freagraí an Aire anocht. The Minister is very welcome.

I want to begin by speaking briefly about my personal experience in campaigning and fighting elections in the North and the issue of proxy voting. I understand anything new or different may present people with some concerns by definition of its newness. I always find anything that strengthens and furthers people's ability to take part in the democratic process is positive and is welcome. Certainly, over many years of being able to engage in proxy voting in the North, I am not aware of any real standard case or cause for concern within the electoral process. This is not to pit one against the other because I believe both are positive, welcome and good.

In terms of postal votes, for example, if a person incapable of reaching a polling station, he or she is equally incapable of reaching a post office or a postbox to post his or her vote. The ability for people to have someone they know and trust to vote on their behalf, thereby ensuring they still have democratic expression, is a good and welcome thing.

I also commend Senator Warfield’s remarks, for which the Minister was not present, in respect of his long-standing campaign for votes to be extended to 16-year-olds in local government and European elections. He has tabled legislation in this House on a number of occasions and we have been told it needed to be looked at and needed more time. I hope people have had the opportunity to look at it and reflect on it, and to take the time that has passed to do this. I certainly alert the Minister to the fact Senator Warfield and the rest of us in Sinn Féin will table amendments to this legislation that will seek to give 16-year-olds the vote in those elections.

The following falls slightly outside the remit of this legislation, so I hope the Minister will indulge me very briefly. It is on the issue of extending presidential voting rights to citizens outside the State. I know it is a programme for Government commitment and is a long-standing commitment of political parties across the spectrum in this State and beyond. We only have a limited amount of time to do this and, as I am sure the Minister will agree, a limited amount of time to win this, to make the arguments, to outline the rationale, to engage with our diaspora networks around the world, to ensure we are engaged with citizens in the North at this most crucial time, and to ensure people understand the importance of this and the reasons we need to ensure the referendum is won in order that citizens outside of the State are enfranchised with that vote.

I would hope we could move the referendum Bill in this House, if that is required. As I understand this from the Minister’s predecessor, a substantial amount of work and research was carried out by departmental officials in looking at the options for this. The legislation is there and it is time it was moved. Perhaps the Minister might give us an initial outline of when he, as Minister with ultimate responsibility for this, would be bringing it forward.

I raise the issue that was raised by colleagues in the Dáil pertaining to amendment No. 2 that was passed on Report Stage in that House, which is the amendment on lotteries. I am not suggesting we have, nor do I want to engage in, a heated exchange across the Seanad floor on this issue, but a number of questions were posed. I need to understand the rationale for amendment No. 2 on Report Stage, where it came from, the thinking behind it, what it is for, what it is seeking to do, and who it is seeking to benefit. I found it astonishing that a Minister of State would respond on the floor of Parliament with no comment. I hope the Minister will not respond here with no comment as opposed to giving us a full and comprehensive outline and rationale for that amendment, given that the questions did pertain to very legitimate and serious concerns around illegality by the Fianna Fáil Party on the lottery. I would like to hear the Minister’s rationale. I am sure he equally agrees it is not good enough for Ministers anywhere, never mind within his own Department, to be responding to questions from the floor with simply no comment.