Laura Harmon (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, and welcome him to the House. It is encouraging to hear his words about the diaspora and the plans for a new strategy in that regard. Our diaspora is a huge strength for Ireland. It is not just soft power; this is real power that we have, showing how well Ireland is regarded across the world. It is very important that we continue to support them and value them. I have had the pleasure of going to the EPIC Museum, the museum of emigration, many times which is a fantastic amenity. It is very important to have those focal points to celebrate those of us who have left our shores and emigrated. In 20 years' time, which will come around quickly enough, we will have the 200th anniversary of the Great Famine. It is important that we plan towards that. I am not sure if we have ever fully reckoned with that as a nation or recovered from it. Over 1 million people left Ireland at the time, so it is important to commemorate that.

Even in my own family, there has been a history of emigration. My grandmother was born in Boston in the thirties and then moved back. She and her then husband moved to England in the fifties and, in the sixties, they came back. Many of my aunts and uncles moved abroad during the recession of the eighties and they came back. Part of my coming of age - politically as well - was the last recession and seeing so many friends leaving. Many of them have now come back; some of them have not yet returned. I am always reluctant to use the term "brain drain" because I think people make decisions whether to leave or to stay and those are very well-thought-out decisions as well. It is striking that we now have the highest levels of outward youth immigration since 2015. As other Senators have alluded to, that is in part due to the housing crisis. We are losing a lot of valuable workers, such as teachers and gardaí in particular to other shores. We need to consider why that is. I wish to speak about the presidential election we have coming up this year. It was, of course, former President Mary Robinson who lit the candle in Áras an Uachtaráin, which is still lighting, as a symbol for the Irish living abroad. I was always struck by the words of former President, Mary McAleese, when she said that many of her neighbours who she grew up with could not vote for her when she was running for the Presidency. This is something we need to look at. As Senator Murphy rightly pointed out, the constitutional convention in 2013 voted 78% in favour of extending voting rights in presidential elections to citizens abroad and 73% to those living in the North as well. In 2017, a commitment was given to hold a referendum on this matter, but we have not seen action on it. I would welcome it and believe we need to look at this matter.

Equally, without a referendum, we could extend the period when citizens can return home to vote. It could certainly be looked at. More than 115 countries worldwide now provide some form of voting rights to their citizens, be it in presidential or parliamentary elections. It can be done through embassies and consulates abroad. It is, therefore, possible. Some Senators in this House have also been supported by our citizens abroad. We are unique in the NUI and Trinity College Dublin panels that some have this ability. If it can be done in this case, perhaps it can be done elsewhere too. One way of valuing our citizens abroad is to look at involving them in our presidential election as a start. Of course, our President represents all Irish citizens, be they living on this island or throughout the world. It would not just be symbolic but very meaningful and right that we would extend the franchise in future for that election. I believe it is a missed opportunity that it has not been done in advance of the election later this year.