Referendum on ‘token’ emigrant vote is a waste of money

The Irish Government has been promising for years to address the lack of voting rights for overseas citizens, and during his St Patrick’s Day visit to the White House this year, Taoiseach Enda Kenny announced a referendum would be held on granting emigrants a vote for the Irish President.

If the referendum passes, this token gesture would be little more than a nod in the direction of enfranchising overseas citizens.

If a vote is offered to emigrants for Presidential elections alone, and if I am eligible, I do not plan to register, or to vote. My reason is simple: it will be a costly exercise to hold a referendum, to register overseas citizens, and to conduct elections.

An options paper published by the Departments of Housing and Foreign Affairs following the Taoiseach's announcement last month put the estimated cost of including emigrants at up to €21 million per Presidential election.Approximately 1.7 million Irish citizens live outside the island of Ireland, a very large number compared to the Republic's resident population of 4.6 million. Yet Ireland's emigrant citizens are a small sub-set of the staggering 70 million people who are believed to claim Irish heritage around the world.

An analysis by the European Parliament Research Service in July 2015 weighed up the arguments for and against allowing emigrants to vote and compared EU member states, the great majority of which allow their overseas citizens to cast a ballot. The report concluded that Ireland's failure to offer voting rights to its citizens in other EU countries was a possible violation of the right of EU citizens to freely move and reside within the EU.

Imagination

Enfranchising overseas citizens in a meaningful way - especially those who had registered to vote in Ireland before emigrating - is an opportunity for an imaginative policy-change. The country will be rewarded in the long term.

Encouraging political engagement from Ireland’s recently-departed citizens will strengthen Irish democracy, and improve the quality of debate. Even if they intend to emigrate, young Irish citizens will have an incentive to vote before they leave.

For many emigrants, enfranchisement will create a deeper dimension to their citizenship, and potentially lead to stronger business relationships, investment, educational links, and deeper cultural and sporting bonds.

Given the large number of Irish overseas citizens, it is a wonder that it has taken until 2017 to address this matter. There is no lower-hanging fruit to be picked in Ireland, in my view.

Approach

There are many good examples from other countries of how Ireland might enfranchise its emigrants abroad It should be done only after an informed public debate. Following France’s example, a constituency to represent Irish citizens living overseas equating to three TDs in Dáil Éireann, say, would be well worth considering.

Limiting the vote to those who had previously registered in Ireland might be prudent, and would address the concern that voters should have a connection to the State.

A post-residency limit, such as the 15 or 25 years applied in the UK and Germany, should also be considered. For all other overseas citizens, a Seanad panel could be an option.

If a referendum is held and the electoral system changed simply for Presidential elections, and not for representation in the Dáil or Seanad, the benefits will be minimal.

Even if we have to wait a few years, let’s get this policy right. The current proposal to extend the franchise to Irish citizens living overseas only for Presidential elections is the wrong one. Don’t bother, I say.

Conor McCoole is president of the Irish Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. Originally from Co Limerick, he works in infrastructure finance in Asia.