An “options” paper on extending the electoral franchise to allow Irish citizens outside Ireland vote in presidential elections will be ready in January, according to Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald.
She rejected Sinn Féin claims that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were “stalling” on the issue. Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald accused the Government of a “con job” in relation to voter rights for emigrants and those in the North.
Ms Fitzgerald said however that unlike Sinn Féin the Government had to provided a detailed reply and consider all the practical implications of extending the vote and she asked if Sinn Féin had developed a paper to answer all the issues.
During leaders’ questions in the Dáil Ms McDonald claimed Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were engaged in “appalling hypocrisy” in voting down her party’s motion in the Seanad to extend the franchise for presidential elections island-wide and across the global Irish diaspora.
Ms McDonald also claimed the Government was running away from the issue. The Dublin Central TD pointed out that the Constitutional Convention, had recommended extending the vote.
She referred for a letter by former minister of state for the diaspora Jimmy Deenihan to Taoiseach Enda Kenny in which she said he “practically begged” Mr Kenny to extend the franchise.
The Sinn Féin deputy leader quoted from the letter in which Mr Deenihan said that “for those who feel that the State failed them and forced them to emigrate, this offers an opportunity to rebuild that trust”.
Ms McDonald said that all the Government and Fianna Fáil was offering was “tea and sympathy” to Irish people in Manchester, Liverpool, London, Boston, New York and Australia. Both parties “talk and promise and fail to act”. She asked if they were stalling because they were concerned that “those forced out of the country might from a distance deliver a verdict you would be not too keen on”.
But the Tánaiste told Ms McDonald “unlike you we have to have a detailed reply” to all the practical implications of extending the franchise.
Ms Fitzgerald said one recommendation from the Constitutional Convention was that only those who lived in Ireland should have the vote. She said there were implications for whom that would include and how it would be established.
The Tánaiste hit out at the Sinn Féin TD and said “you have no monopoly on this. We all have family members” abroad.
She added that Sinn Féin asked for the vote to be extended but she asked had the party developed a paper which addressed all the issues and Ms Fitzgerald said that Sinn Féin had not done that but the Government was dealing with the matter and was committed to progressing the issue.
Sinn Féin Cork TD Jonathan O’Brien said in 2014 a working group had been established to consider extending the franchise and he asked how often it had met and if it would be issuing a report with recommendations.
Minister for Local Government Simon Coveney said there had been an extensive debate on the issue in the Seanad. He said he would bring a detailed options paper on extending the franchise in presidential elections to Irish citizens outside Ireland.
Citizens in the North were in the unique position in that they were entitled to have Irish or British citizenship in full or both. He said that when the make an announcement they would be considering all the questions involved. “We cannot be making a commitment without answering those questions.”
