A chara, – In 2013 the Constitutional Convention voted overwhelmingly in favour of extending votes in presidential elections to citizens in the North and among our global diaspora. Since then people have continued to campaign and lobby Government on this fundamental right being afforded to those citizens.
Despite a number of false dawns, the Government recently indicated on the floor of both the Seanad and Dáil that its latest intended date to hold a referendum on the issue would be in November of this year.
If there is to be a referendum on voting rights, then both Houses of the Oireachtas must pass the legislation needed for its holding; it is only right that TDs and Senators, as well as the voting pubic in the South and citizens at large, get appropriate advanced sight of what precisely will be put to them in terms of the planned poll.
The unfortunate offshoot of the Government’s inaction on this has allowed the public conversation on voting rights to thus far be dominated by negative, often ill-informed and broadly unreflective voices. This negativity cannot be allowed to prevail and set the political tone ahead of the proposed referendum date. The Government holds the starting pistol for allowing positive, progressive and reflective voices to enter this race – it’s time they set it off and published the text of the Bill. – Is mise,
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Senator NIALL
Ó DONNGHAILE,
Belfast
(Sinn Féin,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2).