Irish Diaspora Campaigners are in expectation mode of the Referendum, on allowing them to vote in the next presidential election (2024) ,to be called this year ( 2023)
~time now for the Irish Government to itself tick the box on setting date so we continue the campaigning with a date to focus on a positive outcome ~
Votes for Irish Abroad The Irish World Gerry Molumby feature February 2023
Irish Post Letter March 1st 2023.
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Allowing the Irish Abroad the right to vote is a just cause
Gerry Molumby explains
~ there is a trinity of issues that will preoccupy rightly the Irish electorate and we need to fully clarify these concerns to persuade them, to achieve a positive outcome for all concerned ~
As we approach the last few furlongs heading to the referendum on votes for the Irish Abroad in future presidential elections; we need now to engage with the people of the Irish republic , that giving of this franchise is going to be a win win for all.
The Constitutional Convention was summoned in 2010, all the issues have been rightly distilled, Irish people at home and abroad engaged with it and 79% of members agreed to it in principle. Now it is decision time.
As a campaigner on this all my time as an Irish person in Britain I want to explain my heart felt motivation for this just cause. There is something about the emigrant experience whether chosen or imposed because of economic reasons, that focus one’s identity very clearly and quickly. At least that was my experience, I took my Irishness for granted, but as a young man in London in 1980 embracing British life but alongside that my sense of being Irish was to the fore.
The Irish electorate are decent people and will, as I always have done , vote for the common good ;especially if they feel informed and involved. Voting for something under doubt or confusion results in the cautious retaining of the status quo.
1)
Let us deal with the main concern of many people i.e., “won’t the current Irish electorate be swamped by the size of the Diaspora”?
The number of Irish citizens outside the Republic of Ireland is estimated by the Irish government to be approximately 1.47million. This figure does not include the population of Northern Ireland and their descendants in Britain, who total 2.121 million people. In countries that allow overseas voting, such as Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, only a fraction of their overseas voters are registered to vote, and an even smaller number use it. It tends to be the most engaged who exercise their right to vote. Irish citizens abroad should not be confused with the much larger group of people around the world who claim more distant Irish ancestral links, these people make up our extended family, but are not Irish citizens.
“Furthermore, candidates for president would still have to be nominated by twenty members of the Irish parliament or four County Councils to get on the ballot, so there is little chance of a true wildcard “
The Irish president acts as a unifying head of the Irish nation at home and abroad, with limited executive powers, who speaks thoughtfully at public events, represents Ireland internationally. Since the election of Mary Robinson who defined the presidency as global, the office maintains a firm affirmational cultural and business links with the Diaspora; hence the relevance of allowing citizens abroad a vote. Ireland will gain more by fully cherishing its “exiled children” (1916 Proclamation). We are a powerful resource for good, encouraging Irish people to reconnect with their country and to return not only makes emotional sense; it makes good business sense for Ireland in having a large, English-speaking, successful Diaspora that is invested in Irish affairs is an asset of which many other small nations could only dream of. That two-way bond will be firmly enhanced by allowing Irish people abroad to vote for the head of State.
2)
“No representation without taxation”
Citizen’s rights are not dependent on the tax you pay. Pensioners, students, homemakers, prisoners, and those below the tax threshold would be denied a vote. Prisoner in UK are not allowed to vote, so we need clarity from the two governments what the procedure be if Irish people in the UK are allowed to vote in future presidential elections. Reserved Constituencies (as many other countries do) throughout the world is how the Irish Abroad could vote to Dáil Éireann. That is a debate for another day and taxation could be part of it.
3)
A body of opinion exists that “If you want to vote for an Irish president, you need to go and live in Ireland”.
I challenge the implication that you are a more qualified citizen to vote for the president because you live in twenty-six of Ireland’s thirty-two counties. As though Irishness is dependent on where your foot sole walks and not where your Irish body and soul lives. This can only be righted by changing the Constitution.
One effect of these strict geographical limits is suppressing the youth vote. According to the Irish Examiner about 10% of Ireland’s young people emigrated during the recession. Each year since then, tens of thousands of Irish citizens have emigrated, most of them under 40.
If you are an Irish citizen in the northern part of Ireland and passport carrier, you are further disfranchised; despite since the Good Friday Agreement, Irish people in Northern Ireland can define themselves as British, Irish or both. I have never felt defined in any other way other than an Irishman and frankly I want to die fully Irish, even if I do not live in Ireland.
Personally, I want my right to vote returned to me, for seven years prior to emigrating I had full voting rights for my nation’s president. It has been a personal crusade for me and if other emigrants are not motivated to the same degree that is fine, but I am one man and campaigning for my one vote! I believe in equality of citizenship; you are an Irish citizen or not and in the words of Dermot O’Leary “I am Irish but not living in Ireland”. As regards fuller representation in the Dáil and Seanad, I believe that can be achieved by Reserved / Overseas Constituencies, with pro rata voting, to achieve a balanced representation, but for now I want to focus on the Presidential election.
“As though Irishness is dependent on where your foot sole walks and not where your body and soul lives”.
The Irish electorate may also be concerned on the increase of people applying for Irish Citizenship since Brexit. There has been a rise, but the numbers do not come close to something that would ‘swamp’ the Irish electorate and as referenced earlier, the biggest group of new voters for this constitutional change would be those in Northern Ireland who regard themselves as Irish and affiliated to the presidency. They can hardly be accused of having insufficient links to the country. A right to vote is not predicated on having some in-depth knowledge of Ireland’s cultural or constitutional history, if so, it would surely exclude some of the resident Irish electorate. Historically, and very much in the United Kingdom, the Diaspora played a vital role in the fledging Irish State coming into existence, Connolly, Larkin, Padraig Pearce’s father was an Englishman from Birmingham. We all know of the remittance sent from abroad which kept the Irish economy afloat in post war Britain. What I am asking for is to give a chance to the most engaged citizens abroad, those that really do care and who want to be involved.
Credit is due to the current Irish Government who set up the Constitutional Convention in 2011/3 (now a model of good practice worldwide), who after much research and argument, agreed by 79% to ‘ask the people’ in a Referendum. The campaigning is very active worldwide, with Votes for the Irish Abroad (VICA) in the UK taking a major lead. http://www.vica.ie
“It is the entitlement and birth right of every person born in the island of Ireland, which includes its islands and seas, to be part of the Irish Nation. That is also the entitlement of all persons otherwise qualified in accordance with law to be citizens of Ireland. Furthermore, the Irish nation cherishes its special affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad who share its cultural identity and heritage.”
Irish Constitution
Gerry Molumby
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The fledging Irish Free State did not seem to want to emulate the British Upper House in any form but in time the format of Seanad Éireann was established as an independent revising chamber, by the Constitution of Ireland in 1937. We know that the State and Church were ‘hand in glove’ for most of the last century and the new system of Vocational Panels used to nominate candidates for the Seanad was inspired by Roman Catholic social teaching of the 1930s. Particular influence came from Quadragesimo Anno, in this document Pope Pius XI argued that the Marxist concept of class conflict should be replaced with a vision of social order based on the co-operation and interdependence of society’s various vocational /panel, groups.
This feature/letter is about the opportunity for Irish Abroad representation being finally (along with Presidential Elections from 2025) enhanced in the Oireachtas; but some recent legislative history is needed. Previous Taoiseach Enda Kenny called a referendum in 2013 to abolish the Seanad. It lost by a small majority (48.3% voting in favour of abolition, with 51.7% against) and giving a message of ‘Reform needed’. Enda tasked Maurice Manning, who along with his seven colleagues produced Report of the working group of Seanad Reform 2015. They set out to find the Seanad’s ‘Popular Legitimacy’. Full report here.
Click to access 20150413SeanadReformFinal1.pdf
Some groups amongst the Irish Abroad have called for ‘Diaspora Panels’ , as indicated earlier this would mean hosting a Referendum to amend the constitution. The Manning Report throughout advocates for one person one vote and on the Diaspora said The Working Group believes that the principle of one person one vote be extended to include Irish citizens in Northern Ireland and to holders of Irish passports living overseas (pg 28-30)
The report further states That Irish citizens with current passports living abroad be eligible to register and vote on the Panel of their choice. Panels are vocational interests; namely, Culture and Education, Agriculture, Labour, Industry and Commerce and Public Administration. Other senators are elected by the universities (proposed changes to include all third level education and not the restrictive Dublin universities) and the 11 nominations by the Taoiseach.
On February 1st 2018 in his first speech in the Seanad since he became Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar said a new Oireachtas committee would be tasked with considering the Manning Report and to develop specific proposals to legislate for reform. He reiterated the central recommendations of the Manning Report on the potential changes which are likely to include giving the vote to all Irish citizens, wherever they reside; universal suffrage using the panel system; and allowing for online registration of voters and downloading of ballot papers.
From my layman reading to date and maybe it is going to be made clear from the Oireachtas committee (with an eight-month mandate to consider the Manning report) how?
How? An Irish person living abroad can ‘stand’ for election to the various panels? Other than Irish Universities being the Alma Mater of a minority of us and our status and influence is not enhance fully to wait for a Taoiseach nomination; I am keen to know how we can engage and present our mandate from the Irish Abroad within the various panels .
Gerry Molumby
Campaigner on votes for the Irish Abroad
fmolumby@aol.com ~ 07772471894 ~ http://www.irelandanditsdiaspora.com
Seanad Eireann renewal February 2018 Gerry Molumby
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In this letter / article I want to respond to some comments made by Gerard Howlin in the Irish Examiner recently (January 2018) :
‘Why try to change an institution that does not need to be fixed’?
An Irish Examiner Abroad – votes for Irish people living outside the State.
I have been campaigning on votes for the Irish Abroad since before the Citizens Convention in 2011, on to the Options Papers produced by the Oireachtas in 2016, and up to the pending referendum on extending the right to vote in presidential elections to Irish people outside the State – Abroad and Northern Ireland, to be held in 2019. This was a decision made by ex-Taoiseach Enda Kenny in Philadelphia last year
Gerard’s main objection seems to be the Irish Abroad numerically ‘swamping’ the Ireland based electorate. I would advise that if previous governments had instigated ‘reserved constituencies’ like most other countries do and the European Parliament in 2016 cautioned Ireland that it was out of step with good practice; we could have full representation pro rata in the Dáil and dealt with the ‘representation and taxation’ . Job done.
Since 2011 the only option on the agenda was votes for the presidency and this is going to be ‘one man/women one vote’. The Options Paper (2016) itself 2.2.1 tackles this head on and says they {Irish citizens abroad} were unlikely to swamp domestic voters if voting follows international trends. It pointed to elections in the UK, Canada and Australia, where large numbers of expatriates are permitted to cast ballots but only a fraction actually do. The paper notes that in the last UK elections there were 263,902 overseas electors out of an estimated overseas population of five million in December 2016. In Canada’s 2015 general election, 15,603 overseas citizens out of an overseas population of two million were registered to vote, but only 11,000 did. In Australia’s 2013 national elections 455,000 people were registered to vote out of an overseas population of one million. Less than 74,000 actually voted.
The large Irish Diaspora is part of our DNA and if we are the largest diaspora why not embrace it. One hundred years ago we tried to tell women they could not have a vote because ‘there are too many of you’. For many emigrants, having the presidential vote will create a deeper dimension to their citizenship, and potentially lead to stronger business relationships, investment, educational links, and deeper cultural and sporting bonds. I would recommend a worldwide Erasmus type programme to build on the already many international exchanges within the Irish diaspora.
So which Irish Citizens should be included in the referendum question? I agree with Enda Kenny TD who, in answer to a question at Liverpool Irish Studies (November 2016) agreed with me; that holding a valid Irish passport should be a qualification for citizens living outside the State to vote in Irish presidential elections from 2025.This meets my concern on equality to include Irish people born outside the State. A passport is tangible proof of Irish identity and that you inherited or sought Irish Citizenship. On a practical level it would make the process of voting and collating easier as you are already accounted for.
Enda Kenny gives John Kennedy Lecture University of Liverpool Irish Studies November 30th 2017 . Cormac Molumby Photographer
I am making an assumption that Gerard Howlin has not lived abroad for any length of time so we may be coming at this from different perspectives and I will certainly not indulge in vituperation. But! a right to vote is more than just a ‘numbers game’ , it is a right, what makes someone a better Irish person, a more equal Irish person because they are living on a part of Ireland surrounded by water and a border of course within the Island ?. Furthermore, to become an Irish citizen through naturalisation ,with full voting rights in the Oireachtas , Local Government and in Referendums , based on a ‘reckonable residency’, is achievable well within ten years .Yet to have lived for twenty five years in Ireland and over thirty as an Irish person abroad ; but I have yet to be regranted any voting rights . Yet I do not want a vote because I too was born in Ireland, I advocate for any Irish person abroad with a valid Irish passport. Irishness is defined less in territory or geography but by Irish people living out their identity wherever they live.
In the Ireland I left in 1980 the Irish President then and before were all men, sometimes there was no election as the main parties agreed between themselves an uncontested nomination of an ‘elder statesman’ ;who retired then to Arás an Uachtaráin and attended the All Ireland ! . Imagine my joy over the past twenty eight years as the ‘Two Marys’ (President Robinson and McAleese) as Uachtaráin na hEireann, highlighted the role of women, the worldwide record of the Irish as humanitarians . Presidents who welcomed the Irish Abroad home, who visited and affirmed the Irish worldwide, who brought Enterprise Ireland on many of their foreign trips and who helped built everlasting bridges between Ireland and Britain? I consider this a good outcome and historic record for two people who stood for election and achieved a lot in an apolitical office. The current Uachtaráin, Michael D Higgins stood against six other candidates, polled over two thirds of the vote and with a larger turn out that the previous general election, and has taken on the mantle , very impressively , the role of president of the Irish nation at home and abroad .
The President represents all the people of Ireland, both at home and abroad. www.president.ie
Gerard reminds us that “The President shall not leave the State during his term of office save with the consent of the Government” for he ensures us that the Government alone controls foreign policy. Are the Irish Abroad not part of foreign policy? I know they are, and one has only to engage with the Global Irish section of the Department of Foreign Affairs to know and experience this.
As regards famous and rich likely to galvanise the Irish abroad vote; bring it on, but give us some credit of discernment. If we bother to register to vote we will be bothered to research and follow campaign. We know the standard expected of our presidents, we meet them maybe more often than the natives. Think back, at the last presidential election Ireland at home nearly elected an Irish tv Dragon’s Den star?
I can assure Gerard that the people of Ireland, when asked to put an end to the disenfranchisement of the Irish abroad, will not be found wanting and the referendum, like marriage equality, will not be “dismissed decisively”.
I write a blog on Irish Diaspora issues and the link at the end of this letter gives some relevant background to my campaign.
https://irelandanditsdiaspora.com/votes-for-the-irish-abroad/
Gerry Molumby
Derbyshire ~ January 2018
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Irish Post December 16th 2017
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Mary Hickman takes the debate to RTE
http://www.rte.ie/radio/utils/radioplayer/rteradioweb.html#!rii=b9%5F21266020%5F48%5F07%2D11%2D2017%5F
Minister tells me that referendum on votes for Irish Abroad to be held in June 2019
~ I appreciate John Paul Phelan’s reply, but there is no indication for more public consultation . Therefore the onus is on the Irish Abroad to lead and voice in the public domain their preferred option. Choice seems to be 1. Votes for all Irish Citizens or 2. Irish people who have lived for some time in Ireland ~
My Letter indicating my preferred option 1. and Ministerial Response
An open letter to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Votes for the Irish Abroad
August 8th 2017
An Toaiseach,
Firstly can I congratulate you on your recent appointment by Uachtarán na hÉireann.
I am sure you are aware of the ongoing campaign on votes for the Irish Abroad especially since the inception of the Constitutional Convention back 2012 to the announcement by your predecessor Enda Kenny TD in March (Philadelphia) this year, when he said “It is an opportunity for us to make our country stronger by allowing all of our citizens resident outside the State, including our emigrants, to vote in future presidential elections,” When in London as part of the Worldwide Gathering in 2013 on voting rights you said “This would recognise, respect and validate the ongoing ties between the diaspora and the country. This is not tokenism. The president is the embodiment of the spirit of the Irish nation”.
Following the Global Irish Civic Forum (May 2017), the reason I am writing to you is to offer the assistance of the Irish Diaspora in the final wording of the referendum question. Minister Coveney (now Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade) spoke with honesty about the history of referendums in Ireland and that “Irish people are cautious” and he rightly highlighted the issue of what he called “proof of connectivity” which he felt the electorate will expect in helping them decide.
The Options Paper’ with the 7 options was published prior to the forum and members of the Government present seemed to me, prior to discussion, to prefer option 2.
All citizens on the island of Ireland, and all citizens outside the island of Ireland for a period of time who have lived in the State;
I spoke from the floor in favour of Option 1) all citizens outside the State;
“Although a passport is clear evidence of citizenship it challenges my equality benchmark as people could establish their citizenship simply by an Irish Birth Certificate or certificate of a Foreign Birth Registration. Option 2 is limited as my son has never lived in Ireland ‘for a period’ of time but has an Irish passport and a firm and ongoing connection with Ireland its people and culture,”
My preferred wording still would be “Do you agree that Irish Citizens resident outside the State should have the right to vote in Presidential Elections”?
The more inclusive Option 1 was taken up by my colleague Mary Hickman (Votes for Irish Citizens Abroad) when she said in Dublin “ most campaigners want all citizens to be allowed to vote for the president, with no restriction on the time they have been abroad or whether they have lived here”.
Therefore I would offer the collaboration of Ireland and its Diaspora blog, contacts and fellow campaigners here in the UK to host engagement events/circulations/surveys etc. and help the Irish Abroad Unit in any way in the collation of the preferred wording for the pending referendum.
Is Mise,
Letter from Minister John Paul Phelan October 27th 2017
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Referendum on Votes for Irish Abroad to be held in summer 2019 ~ Taoiseach announcement .
Government Sets Indicative Timetable For Referendums
The Government today, 26th September 2017, agreed an indicative timetable for a number of referendums on constitutional amendments and reforms to local government, arising from the work of the Citizens’ Assembly, the Convention on the Constitution, and the Programme for a Partnership Government:
- · Referendum on the Eighth amendment – May or June 2018
- · Referendums on Blasphemy (Article 40.6.1) and “Woman’s life within the home” (Article 41.2.1) – October 2018
- · Plebiscite on directly elected executive mayors – October 2018
- · Referendums on Divorce, Extending the Franchise at Presidential Elections to Irish Citizens Resident outside the State, and Reducing the voting age to 16, – June 2019
Each referendum will be subject to passage of Bills by the Houses of the Oireachtas and formal confirmation of the polling date.
The Taoiseach said:
Any amendment to our Constitution requires careful consideration by the people. They should be given ample time to consider the issues and to take part in well-informed public debate. Setting a timetable for the referendums to be held over the next two years will allow all involved in campaigning on the issues to plan ahead and to facilitate that public debate.
The Citizens’ Assembly report on the on the Eighth amendment of the Constitution is currently being considered by the Joint Oireachtas Committee which is expected to report before the end of the year. A Bill to amend the Constitution will be prepared in light of the Committee’s report, and subject to its passage by the Houses of the Oireachtas, a referendum will be held in May or June of 2018.
The Government is committed to holding constitutional referendums on Article 41.2.1, regarding a woman’s life within the home, and Article 40.6.1, on the offence of blasphemy – both arising from recommendations made by the Convention on the Constitution and included in the Programme for Government.
In March 2017 the Government approved in principle the holding of a referendum to give citizens resident outside the State the right to vote in Presidential elections also on foot of a recommendation from the Convention on the Constitution. The Convention also recommended a referendum on reducing the voting age to 16.
Reforms to local government including the direct election of city Mayors arise from the Programme for Government.
The Government decided on 4 April 2017 to support a Private Members’ Bill from Deputy Josepha Madigan to reduce the length of the period or periods for which a couple must live apart before they can obtain a divorce.
The Government has deferred making a decision on the timing of a referendum on Ireland’s participation in the Unified Patent Court.
The Government is also still considering the holding of a referendum on keeping Irish Water in public ownership.
The referendums to be held in October 2018 could be held on the same date as a presidential election if one is held.
It is proposed that the June 2019 referendums would be held on the same day as the local and European elections.
The Taoiseach will meet the leaders of the main parties to discuss the plans for referendums.
An open letter to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Votes for the Irish Abroad
August 8th 2017
An Toaiseach,
Firstly can I congratulate you on your recent appointment by Uachtarán na hÉireann.
I am sure you are aware of the ongoing campaign on votes for the Irish Abroad especially since the inception of the Constitutional Convention back 2012 to the announcement by your predecessor Enda Kenny TD in March (Philadelphia) this year, when he said “It is an opportunity for us to make our country stronger by allowing all of our citizens resident outside the State, including our emigrants, to vote in future presidential elections,” When in London as part of the Worldwide Gathering in 2013 on voting rights you said “This would recognise, respect and validate the ongoing ties between the diaspora and the country. This is not tokenism. The president is the embodiment of the spirit of the Irish nation”.
Following the Global Irish Civic Forum (May 2017), the reason I am writing to you is to offer the assistance of the Irish Diaspora in the final wording of the referendum question. Minister Coveney (now Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade) spoke with honesty about the history of referendums in Ireland and that “Irish people are cautious” and he rightly highlighted the issue of what he called “proof of connectivity” which he felt the electorate will expect in helping them decide.
The Options Paper’ with the 7 options was published prior to the forum and members of the Government present seemed to me, prior to discussion, to prefer option 2.
All citizens on the island of Ireland, and all citizens outside the island of Ireland for a period of time who have lived in the State;
I spoke from the floor in favour of Option 1) all citizens outside the State;
“Although a passport is clear evidence of citizenship it challenges my equality benchmark as people could establish their citizenship simply by an Irish Birth Certificate or certificate of a Foreign Birth Registration. Option 2 is limited as my son has never lived in Ireland ‘for a period’ of time but has an Irish passport and a firm and ongoing connection with Ireland its people and culture,”
My preferred wording still would be “Do you agree that Irish Citizens resident outside the State should have the right to vote in Presidential Elections”?
The more inclusive Option 1 was taken up by my colleague Mary Hickman (Votes for Irish Citizens Abroad) when she said in Dublin “ most campaigners want all citizens to be allowed to vote for the president, with no restriction on the time they have been abroad or whether they have lived here”.
Therefore I would offer the collaboration of Ireland and its Diaspora blog, contacts and fellow campaigners here in the UK to host engagement events/circulations/surveys etc. and help the Irish Abroad Unit in any way in the collation of the preferred wording for the pending referendum.
Is Mise,
Gerry Molumby
Lobbying Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD on a visit to the House of Commons March 2014
(Picture Malcolm McNally Irish Post UK)
Minister Simon Coveney calls for help with definition of ‘connectivity’ and further consultation with the Irish Abroad as he prepares the wording for the Presidential Votes Referendum.
From Global Irish Civic Forum at Dublin Caste (May 4/5 2017) – Gerry Molumby
One of the central and well anticipated plenary sessions was the panel discussion on ‘Voting Rights in Presidential Elections’. This was the first time in the history of Ireland that Irish citizens living outside the State are potentially to be brought into the centre of Ireland’s Democracy.
(Gerry Molumby Photographer)
There were over 200 people in the hall and the panel consisted of Ministers Simon Coveney (Housing, Planning Community and Local Government) and Joe McHugh (Diaspora and International Affairs). The chairperson was Dearbhail Mc Donald (Group Business Editor, Irish News and Media). A background to the feasibility and options was given by Dr. Iseult Honohan (University College Dublin). Final panellist Senator Billy Lawless, who is based in Chicago, cut to the chase and recommended Option 2.
All citizens on the island of Ireland, and all citizens outside the island of Ireland for a period of time who have lived in the State;
As a Fine Gael Senator his preference hardly came as a surprise to the two ministers present and appeared to me to be the current favoured option of the Government. Minister Simon Coveney spoke with honesty about the history of Referendums in Ireland and that “Irish people are cautious” and I welcomed his invitation to the global Irish to engage further with him though the Irish Abroad Unit and other means in order to offer concise wording to the Irish Electorate in this question. He spoke in the Q and A part on the point made earlier by Dr Honohan on the need to incorporate the fact that people eligible as citizens outside the State may lack a genuine connection and he seemed to favour proof of connectivity to Ireland to Ireland which every citizen would not necessarily have.
I spoke from the floor in favour of Option 1) all citizens outside the State;
“Although a passport is clear evidence of citizenship it challenges my equality benchmark as people could establish their citizenship simply by an Irish Birth Certificate or certificate of a Foreign Birth Registration. Option 2 is limited as my son has never lived in Ireland ‘for a period’ of time but has an Irish passport and a firm and ongoing connection with Ireland its people and culture. Also I would prefer that if the right to vote in presidential elections is given that there be an onus on citizens to exercise that by opting in to register. ” – Gerry Molumby
The more inclusive Option 1 was taken up by Mary Hickman (Votes for Irish Citizens Abroad) when she said “ most campaigners want all citizens to be allowed to vote for the president, with no restriction on the time they have been abroad or whether they have lived here”.
‘Home to Vote’ was mention throughout the days in Dublin, not sure if there will be the mobilisation for recent left emigrants to do same for the presidential vote? The marriage equality was a generational shift of maturity with young people coming home to support family members and friends in this equality issue. Voting for the Irish Abroad is not a ‘big issue’ as yet in Ireland and if the referendum is held the same day as the Referendum on the 8th Amendment ?, the abortion debate will dominate the news in advance .
Delegates from Coventry (Gerry Molumby Photographer)
The two day conference was slickly organised and the various workshops were well moderated, staff at the Irish Abroad Unit acquitted themselves well in their preparation and professionalism. Their gift of the booklet on good and effective use of social media was a useful ‘take away’. Catering staff and lunch were great each day!
Other topics up for discussion at Dublin Castle on May 5th and 6th, were the implementation of the Government’s diaspora policy, Irish organisations governance , fundraising, moving back to Ireland ,use of social media , culture (Creative Ireland), mental health . I particularly liked the presentation on the art included in our passports and how to apply for the new passport card.
The networking with Irish organisations throughout the world was a special experience of our days in Dublin and I welcome the promise of the Global Irish Hub to facilitate us continuing to network away from Baile Átha Cliath.
You can read my submission to the Global Irish Civic Forum here –
https://irelandanditsdiaspora.com/votes-for-the-irish-abroad/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/triskellion_uk/albums/72157681837145640
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BACKGROUND
I personally instituted a worldwide survey to the Irish Abroad and got 87 responses most of which came from the UK and the findings were .
Answer Choices – Responses –
–
Dáil 71.43%
60
–
Seanad 69.05%
58
–
Presidency 82.14%
69
–
Irish Citizens abroad should not have a vote to Ireland’s Oireachtas 15.48%
13
–
Don’t know 2.38%
2
Total Respondents: 84
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Y8CFXL5 The survey is now closed but you can at least read the questions and the background. The full survey and geographical and personal submissions is available on request.
In essence the majority of Irish people abroad would particularly like a vote in pending presidential elections.
Gerry Molumby
Nottingham
November 20th 2016
Referendum on voting rights for the Irish abroad planned for ASAP
(Personal promise given to me by Joe McHugh, Teachta Dála ,Minister for the Diaspora and Overseas Development)
Following a direct question to the Minister I got a direct response and promise “that the priority for the government was to give Irish emigrants the right to vote in presidential elections”. This was part of a Q and A session at Camden Town Hall July 15th as part of the minister’s first visit abroad since obtaining his seal of office. He went on to tell me “We are driving the issue hard and the Taoiseach is very interested in it”. Speaking later at the Irish Embassy we exchanged cards and I told the minister I would endeavour to be at the Global Civic Forum next year to move the whole debate and logistics forward to the benefit of the Irish Nation worldwide.
Gerry Molumby
Votes for the Irish Abroad Campaigner
Cherishing all the children of the nation equally
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Open letter to all the leaders of Ireland’s political parties
~ Votes for the Irish Abroad
~ Inclusion in your manifesto ~ General Election 2016
November 5th 2015
Dear
I would be the first to acknowledge the increased efforts of recent Irish Governments to further engage with and support financially Irish Abroad agencies and people.
The one outstanding issue is full voting rights inclusion in Ireland’s democracy.
Background:
Since the first muting by the Fine Gael and Labour coalition back in 2011 and the inclusion in the programme for government of a Constitutional Convention, I have been a keen activist on votes for the Irish Abroad; lobbying members of the Oireachtas and encouraging the Irish Abroad to engage with the Convention. When the Convention was completed, in 2013, it recommended by 79% extending the franchise to Irish citizens abroad to vote in future Presidential Elections. Despite its own time frame the government decided not to complete by referendum this recommendation. This carousel that has been going round and round since the early 1990, with every party , in opposition or making pre-election statements of Irish Abroad representation – but no party delivering yet – thirty years on.There will be ‘more of the same’ in the next weeks and months with the pending general election; but potentially a bit more substantial hopefully following the most recent debate in the Dáil ,on October 23rd resulted in the house accepting the principle ~ voting rights should be extended to Irish citizens abroad .
“The blips in the 1970 when more people returned than left and the current strive on job creation are noble; but our history is one of endemic and continuous emigration. The Irish Abroad therefore should have a vote in the appointments to the Dáil, Seanad and Presidency ” . (Gerry Molumby)
Proposal:
I propose therefore that the only way (as carried out by many other European countries) to end the disenfranchisement of Irish citizens/passport holders overseas is to set up designated constituencies worldwide for representation to the Dáil, Seanad and voting for the Presidency. I am defining an Irish citizen as anyone who holds an Irish passport as their source of national and ethnic identity. I am not in favour of setting a time limit to Irish citizenship, how can you have a watered down ‘My Wadi’ type of Irishness. The Irish people who left Ireland in the 1950, their children and grandchildren (if they choose citizenship) are as Irish as the newly arrived in London or Boston today. Irish citizenship does not have geographical boundaries and must include people living in the jurisdiction of Northern Ireland. The pro-rata numeric balance with residents living in Ireland is achievable in designated constituencies, modelled on other European countries and an ‘Irish solution to an Irish problem’. The Report of the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs on Voting Rights of Irish Citizens Abroad presented to the Dáil on October 23rd recommended the setting up of an Electoral Commission and I would suggest that the format of designated constituencies should be their priority.
The ‘apolitical’ office of Uachtaráin na hEireann has changed greatly since the election of ‘the two Marys’ and their focus on Diaspora and worldwide issues. Just look at the role they and the Irish Americans played in the peace process and currently Michael D Higgins as one of the United Nations ‘Gender Ambassadors’. President Higgins said in June 2015 “Emigration is, at its root, an experience that is intensely personal”. You do not become less Irish by emigrating but in many ways becomes more focused on Ireland’s wellbeing. For my case here in the UK I feel as much an Irishman today as I did in 1980. That is the reason why, until I have a say in my homeland’s development, I will not feel fully cherished, as promised in the Proclamation of 1916.
Therefore as we are in the season of a pending election campaign ! Can I ask request that you set our clearly your party’s position and direction on votes for the Irish Abroad and your response to by views above ? President Higgins accepted my invitation and others to visit Britain as part of his presidency campaign and I would like to extend to you an invitation to debate in the UK (I am part of a network and could convene a series of public meetings with the Irish voluntary, sporting, cultural and business sectors) your party’s position on issues of concern to the Irish Abroad.
In conclusion, can I wish you and your party a Happy Christmas and well in the election of 2016, a year which will be a great time and anniversary to be Irish at home and abroad.
Is Mise,
Gerry Molumby
In the words of Seamus Heaney ” Be advised my passport’s green”
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OECD weighs in: emigrant vote would benefit Ireland, citizens abroad
GlobalIrish.ie reported that the OECD is the latest international body to weigh in on Ireland’s disenfranchisement of its citizens abroad. In their latest economic survey, the organisation says that Ireland is out of step with the rest of Europe, and both citizens and the nation are missing out:
(Picture President Higgins does walk about during his visit to the birthplace of William Shakespere on 11th April 2014)
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irelandanditsdiasporadotcom 