THE GOVERNMENT IS remaining hopeful that a referendum on extending the right to vote in presidential elections to Irish citizens abroad could be held during Leo Varadkar’s term as Taoiseach.
The referendum was a pledge made by the previous government and was also contained in the Programme for Government agreed by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party.
Enda Kenny first signalled the intention to hold a referendum on the issue during his final St. Patrick’s Day trip to the US as taoiseach in 2017 but delays including the Covid-19 pandemic have meant it has not materialised.
In an event today, Fine Gael Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora Colm Brophy will discuss with diaspora groups plans for a civic forum in Dublin next year.
The forum will discuss a range of issues of relevance to the diaspora, with voting rights for those abroad expected to be high on the agenda.
Such a referendum is perhaps not likely next year, with 2024 a more likely timeframe.
Speaking to The Journal, Brophy said taking time to explain the rationale behind it will be key.
“I think the important thing about holding the referendum is that we make sure we get a clear message out as to what the referendum is about how it will impact on people, in terms of the presidential election,” he said.
If you want to pass a referendum in this country, the most important aspect is to make sure that you give yourself sufficient time to explain it, otherwise you risk losing it.
Making an argument on behalf of the Constitutional change, Brophy said it would “strengthen” the presidency.
One of the great strengths of our presidencies in recent years, and many of our presidents have done this, is to be a voice and a champion for the Irish diaspora. And to be that very unifying figure that not just represents the people who are living here in the Republic of Ireland, but representing the island of Ireland and representing the Irish citizen diaspora wherever they are in the world. So, in effect, you strengthen that presidency by allowing a president to be selected by everybody who is an Irish citizen.
‘Doable’
Brophy said that a referendum is “doable, absolutely” in the lifetime of the Coalition and he adds that the April 2023 forum will add to the understanding of how to get there.
The promised referendum has been sought for a number of years by diaspora campaigners who have argued that the President “is head of State for the whole Irish nation, which is not defined by its geographical borders.”
Brophy told The Journal that Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan and his department will lead the mechanics of defining who would take part in the expanded vote and how they would participate.
He said the proposal is likely to extend the presidential vote to people with “recognised Irish citizenship”.
“There’s a bit of work to be done in tying down the numbers, you can look pretty much at passports which give you a very good identifier but not everybody who’s a citizen has a passport,” he said.
The previous presidential election in 2018 was the lowest turnout in Irish presidential election history. Of the 3,229,672 people who were entitled to vote, just under 44% chose to do so.
Brophy said expanding the electorate would provide “a tremendous opportunity to energise the presidential election”.
“We’ve had falling participation numbers, so I think we have a tremendous opportunity to energise the presidential election, and by increasing the electorate there to hopefully have a higher turnout,” he said.
Brophy added that voters abroad should not be treated as a single block of voters who would hold similar views.
“I don’t believe either they will be a monolith voting one way another for a candidate. I think people regardless of where they are in the world will make up their mind based on the candidates that are available.”
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