Sir, – I’ve read with interest recent letters supporting the notion of allowing the Diaspora a seat in the Seanad.
But what complete nonsense such a notion is! Thousands of actual Irish citizens who live or work abroad (or even in another part of the Republic) are already disenfranchised when it comes to voting.
A 1979 amendment to extend the Seanad franchise for the six university seats to all university graduates has never been enacted.
Most of the population is shaky on how the rest of the Seanad is actually selected.
Who would decide who should take this seat? Would the person need to prove Irish ancestry or would their word be good enough? Would the Diaspora – some 80-million strong – vote? And if so, how would votes be collected and counted? Much better to reform the archaic practices of Seanad election than give a token nod to our far-flung past. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Cal Hyland (October 26th) dismisses the idea of one or even more Seanad seats for the Diaspora as “tokenism”. It is anything but. Official Ireland has long been happy to wash its hands of us, as we no longer can vote in any kind of election. However, in recent years the State has belatedly realised that the Diaspora has significant potential for revitalising our moribund economy and providing fresh thinking on how we can rebuild our country. That is commendable but we are not just some cow waiting to be milked for our money – we are stakeholders too in Ireland and that must be recognised and acted upon.
There have been many examples of how the State has shown bad faith to the Diaspora — not least in allowing RTÉ to scrap the legislated for Diaspora TV channel, but also in extending the franchise. The State has one of the most restricted franchises among modern western democracies. Conor McCann rightly points out (October 26th) that our citizens in Northern Ireland are also disenfranchised. A number of directly elected Seanad seats and the right to vote in presidential elections for all Irish citizens living outside the State would go a long way to redressing the imbalance, without impacting on the make-up of Dáil Éireann. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I am always puzzled by calls to give the Diaspora political representation in the State. I thought the purpose of republican nationalism was the reduction of external interference. Instead, let us make sure that everyone who contributes in person to the State, through living here, can actually vote and be represented. If Northern nationalists wish to be represented, let them make themselves eligible for taxation here. On second thoughts, if Northern Ireland were represented in the Dáil, why suppose only nationalists would vote? Would there be some sort of segregation? If not, why stop at the North, or those who designate themselves Irish-American? Surely the logical step would be to give votes to citizens of British “diasporic cities”. As a logical party, I’m sure Sinn Féin can see the wisdom, even the necessity, of representing London in the Dáil. – Yours, etc,