Seanad debates

Thursday, 21 July 2016

Commencement Matters

Constitutional Convention Recommendations

10:30 am

Photo of Paul CoghlanPaul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, is very welcome.

Photo of Niall Ó DonnghaileNiall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for attending. I am delighted we are getting the opportunity to discuss this very important issue on the last sitting day before we rise for the summer recess. This is an issue that is very close to many people's hearts, particularly those of us who are Irish citizens but do not have a vote in presidential elections at this point in time.

The Constitutional Convention made a call for and heard contributions from people across Irish life, including submissions on politics and civic life in the North. The convention recommended extending the franchise to Irish citizens not just in the North, but also the diaspora. Senator Lawless made an articulate and wonderful maiden speech in the House yesterday and outlined the significant connection we have to our diaspora. I imagine that everything we can do to further harness that connection would be welcomed.

The President is the President of the Irish people as opposed to the President of the Irish landmass. As such, it makes practical sense to take this very progressive and, some might say, modest step. It is modest because 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement was ratified, we still do not have the ability to vote for our President, notwithstanding the anomaly that someone from the North can run and, as has happened, become a very fine President of the Irish people. I thank the Minister of State for being here and I look forward to the discussion and work ahead.

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. It is important that we discuss the implications around it. In its fifth report, the Constitutional Convention recommended that voting rights be extended in presidential elections to Irish citizens resident outside the State. The then-Government considered this recommendation last year and decided that it would be necessary to analyse the full range of legal, practical and policy issues arising before any decision could be made on the holding of a referendum on the matter. The estimated costs arising also need to be fully analysed and considered.

The Government requested the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to undertake this analysis in co-operation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Minister of State with responsibility for diaspora affairs. A range of complex and interrelated issues are being examined as part of the analysis being undertaken. I will briefly refer to some of the issues that arise. They are ones which I would have mentioned during the debate last week on extending the Seanad franchise.

The wider Irish diaspora is estimated by some at 70 million people. The number of those in the 70 million who are entitled to Irish citizenship is not known and would be difficult to determine. However, the potentially very high number of citizens outside the State relative to those within it must be an important consideration in examining the extension of the franchise at presidential elections. Many questions arise in this regard. Should voting rights be extended to all citizens resident outside the State or only to passport holders? Should it be extended only to those born in Ireland or to citizens who have lived outside the State for a limited period? What would be an appropriate time limit? Would it be five, ten or 20 years, for example? How would this be administered or verified? This is not an exhaustive list of questions that arise when considering this particular issue, but they are ones we will have to talk through at some stage and make decisions on. The Departments are analysing them and trying to come up with suggestions.

Clearly, a robust system for the registration of voters resident outside the State is a prerequisite for any extension of the franchise. The operational arrangements for the registration of electors in the State would likely not be suitable for an extended franchise. Much work would be needed in this area and this has already been flagged in relation to the establishment of an electoral commission. How would citizens outside the State vote? Arrangements must be workable. Embassy voting allows for in-person voting such as we have at polling stations. While in-person voting is generally viewed as the most secure method of voting, many practical issues appear to mitigate against such an arrangement being workable for us. Postal voting is an alternative for consideration but security of the ballot and verification of identity must be carefully considered if we are to use this method on a very large scale as could arise in an extended franchise.

The Government recognises that an extension of voting rights at presidential elections to citizens resident outside the State would be welcomed by many. An amendment to the Constitution would be required to give effect to the convention's recommendation. There is a need, however, to ensure that we carry out a thorough analysis of the issues arising before putting a question to the people at a referendum. My Department is undertaking that analysis in close co-operation with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the office of the Minister of State with responsibility for diaspora affairs. I do not have a date as to when the analysis will be concluded. It is a complicated issue and there is a lot in it. That does not mean we are not going to do it. It must all be looked at. There is a desire there to do this but there is also a fair bit of work involved. I said during last week's debate on the extension of the Seanad vote that the use of technology is important and that we must explore all options there. At all times, we must ensure that the system is secure and usable. We must try to learn from those countries which do this best.

Photo of Niall Ó DonnghaileNiall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate the work the Minister of State has committed to do on this issue. The work is necessary and I appreciate that it is not a simple matter. However, it needs to be done. There is a huge onus on us. I appreciate that the diaspora are in a unique set of circumstances and I do not mean to be dismissive of that, but it would be relatively easy for me to go to St. Matthew's primary school in Seaforde Street in east Belfast to cast my vote for the President. Perhaps, in parallel with those broader issues, given the size of the diaspora internationally, we could run a dedicated consideration through the North-South Ministerial Council and our colleagues in the Executive and Electoral Commission in the North on how to utilise the existing facilities there. They are ready to be utilised through co-operation and a good working relationship with the Minister of State's colleagues in the North. We need to put a bit of fire under this, expedite it and ensure that we are not lost in bureaucracy, albeit I appreciate what the Minister of State points out. Without putting a timeframe on it per se, it would be useful if the Minister of State would consider ensuring that this does not run perpetually so that we end up sitting here for another 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement and after the Constitutional Convention. Who knows, we might even have another Northern President in that time. What we should definitely have is our vote.

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I agree that if at all possible, we should try to get a timeframe on it. It is difficult to do. It might be a case of coming back with recommendations to do this step by step. There are easier paths to doing this. Extending it to the full option of 70 million people when we do not even know how many of them could be citizens would be an awkward process to develop. It is about coming back with different answers and to try to move it on. We also have a lot of work to do to get our current register of electors up to date for both Dáil and local authority elections. It is not completely out of date, but we all come across a lot of problems with it on a daily basis. The first phase of any work is to get that in order while looking then at all the options.The Department is working hard and we have meetings scheduled during August to try to get a handle on the timeframes involved. It probably means that a decision will have to be made to allocate more staff and resources, but the work has begun. Whether it needs to be fast-tracked will need to be decided. These are the discussions we are having. I will be able to update the Senator in the autumn. The matter is not being put on the long finger.