Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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198. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps he is taking to ensure that voting rights for Irish emigrants are aligned with the criteria used in other European countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22228/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Under electoral law, in order to be able to vote at elections in Ireland, a person's name must be entered in the register of electors for a constituency in the State in which the person ordinarily resides. With some exceptions (mainly postal and special voters) all persons must attend in person to vote at their local polling station.

Subject to a limited number of exceptions, Irish citizens resident outside the State do not have the right to vote at elections or at referendums held in the State. The Programme for Government - Our Shared Future - commits to holding a referendum on extending the franchise at presidential elections to Irish citizens resident outside of the State. My Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs have been working closely on this issue and, on 16 September 2019, the Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (Presidential Elections) Bill 2019 was initiated in Dáil Éireann by the then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to facilitate the holding of a referendum on this issue.

While the Bill lapsed with the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil Éireann, in support of the Government commitment, the Bill has been restored to the Dáil Order Paper. If the Bill is passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas, section 10 of the Referendum Act 1994 requires that I, as Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, make an order appointing the day upon which the poll for the proposed referendum will take place. The Act provides that the polling day shall be not less than thirty days and not more than ninety days after the date of the order.

While electoral law is kept under ongoing review, proposals for the extension of voting rights to Irish citizens resident outside the State at other elections or at referendums are not currently under consideration.