Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here and offer him huge congratulations on his recent appointment. I think back to 2016 when we used to sit over there and have the craic on that side of the House, so it is great to see where he is today. I look forward to working with him on issues across his brief in the coming term.

I start by paying tribute to the millions of Irish people who live beyond the shores of our island, whether they emigrated recently or claim Irish heritage or ancestry, and to all who feel a meaningful connection to contemporary Ireland through our diaspora. The history of Ireland and its people has often been a story of migration, of leaving home to make a journey despite danger and uncertainty and to arrive at a faraway destination in the hope of having a better life. I have travelled down to Cobh many times. Seeing the stories of people who left many years ago, it must have been awful for them having to leave Ireland, especially during the Famine era, and after it, to head to another country not knowing what was ahead of them. It must have been quite a scary process to leave their family and never see them again.

We would do well in Ireland today to remember the lessons from our own history as we legislate to welcome those making dangerous journeys from afar and coming here to Ireland in search of a good life. We are all, rightly, proud of the contributions of Irish people living abroad across diverse fields, including, as my colleague mentioned, art and music, sport, global health, human rights and peace-building around the world. Undoubtedly, we all benefit here from our association with the Irish people and communities doing incredible work in our name around the world.

In this spirit, I pay tribute to our former colleague, the late Senator, Billy Lawless, for his tireless work on behalf of the Irish diaspora, especially those living undocumented in the United States. As an advocate in the United States, Billy Lawless exemplified the role and work of our diaspora. I again pay great tribute to his work. A cause particularly close to his heart was the extension of voting rights to Irish people living abroad in Irish Presidential elections. This is the issue I wish to raise today with the Minister of State as he assumes his brief. I am concerned it has fallen from the political agenda. In his response, can he give us an idea of the Government’s plan to advance this necessary change?

In September 2019, the Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (Presidential Elections) Bill to allow for a referendum was introduced by the former Minister, Simon Coveney.A Government decision at that time was made to postpone change due to the uncertainty related to Brexit. However, we are now five years on from the Bill's introduction and four years since the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union. Will the Minister of State comment on that delay please? There is no doubt that Ireland is an outlier in western democracies in excluding our diaspora almost entirely from our democratic process. The fact that we allow elections to this House from abroad but for no other elected office in the State adds to the hypocrisy. We must ask the question: why should a Trinity College Dublin or NUI graduate be afforded access to voting from abroad while millions of others are disenfranchised? We owe our young people living abroad a better life here than that which drove them away By extending voting rights for our highest office we can begin a conversation that could bring them home. There have been countless reports, debates and expert analyses of the principle and the practice of allowing votes to be cast for the presidency from abroad. As we look out at a shifting and uncertain international landscape we should be looking for ways to immediately and proactively activate and engage one of Ireland's greatest resources, which is the millions of Irish people living as our diaspora who want a way to feel legitimately connected to their homeland. That includes my own two brothers who live away and who would love to be able to contribute.

Many of the logistic concerns regarding such an election are often cited in bad faith to justify the unacceptable status quothat somehow millions of distantly descended Americans with no connection to Ireland would overwhelm our domestic electorate. That really does a disservice to the Oireachtas and to the legislative process to claim that we, as Members, could not legislate for a fair and balanced system that allows participation from both within and outside by those with a legitimate connection to Ireland. I agree with my colleague Senator Harmon. We definitely need a referendum and then we can legislate. It is not rocket science. It is that simple; we have a referendum and then we legislate. The Irish Presidency has been an office held by individuals that represent the Irish people at home and abroad with distinction and it stands to reason that a representative of Irish people around the world should be voted for by all Irish people, independent of where they live.

The issue was of such importance to former President, Mary Robinson, that it was the sole subject of her presidential address to a special sitting of both Houses of the Oireachtas on 2 February 1995. In that address, which she entitled "Cherishing the Irish Diaspora", President Robinson stated: "The truest way of cherishing our diaspora is to offer them, at all times, the reality of this island as a place of peace where the many diverse traditions in which so many of them have their origins, their memories, their hopes are bound together in tolerance and understanding." I can think of no better way to honour those beautiful words than by extending the Irish people living abroad a role in choosing her successor. Our diaspora is not just a chapter of Ireland's long history. It is a modern relationship that exists today, with both obligations and commitments. I ask the Minister of State to comment on this and to bring this issue back to the Department as a matter of urgency.