Column: Why has the Government
ignored the Irish diaspora – again?
theJournal.ie 26/3/2014
The timeframe for the Government to
respond to the recommendations of the Constitutional Convention regarding the
voting rights of Irish abroad has elapsed, write Oliver Moran and Sarah
Cantwell.
LAST NIGHT, British royalty held a
reception for the Irish in Britain in celebration for their
contribution to the life of the United Kingdom. The reception was held as part of the lead-up to the state
visit of President Higgins in April.
There is a strange irony that this
reception was held on the evening that the Government here showed the same
people the cold shoulder. Yesterday should have been the day that the Government
announced the extension of voting rights to the Irish abroad. How ironic that
the British should recognise the value of the Irish diaspora to them on the
same evening we ignore them here one again.
On November 26, the Constitutional
Convention recommended that a referendum be held on extend voting rights in
Presidential elections to Irish citizens in Northern Ireland and to Irish
emigrants abroad. That was four months ago today,
meaning the Government has let the recommendation go without responding to it
in the timeframe it set out for itself.
The Oireachtas resolution that
established the Convention gave a four-month timeframe for the Government to
respond to each recommendation. That was an important provision. Its inclusion
was to ensure that reports of the Convention weren’t left to gather dust like
so many reports before them. It was particularly important for reports of the
Constitutional Convention because the Convention was made up of 66 ordinary
citizens who gave up their time for no personal reward and engaged in good
faith with politicians in a process of deliberation.
It’s important for us all because
the question of voting rights for the Irish abroad is one that touches at the
very core of what it means to be a citizen and how we see ourselves in our
democracy.
Our democratic revolution
It was perhaps with a sense of
naivety that the authors of the Programme for Government called the general
election of 2011 a “democratic revolution”. But that is what happened. Not in
the ballot box but in an on-going process of change in the public mind.
The human and financial cost of the
financial crisis — and the realisation that ultimately we will be left holding
the can for mismanagement of the State — has caused us to rethink what the
State is and the scope of control and visibility we have over it.
This rethinking can be seen in
goings on such as the Constitutional Convention. For example, another recommendation
of the Constitutional Convention (one that the Government has left unanswered
since August last year) is to introduce a means for citizens to propose
legislation and call referendums directly. The action plan from the Open
Government Partnership to make government more transparent and accessible is
another example.
Where does votes for the Irish
abroad fit into this?
By our own words and actions, we
acknowledge the contributions and interest the Irish abroad have in the State. When the crisis began to pinch, we were quick to look to the
diaspora for a helping hand through the shakedown of the Gathering and the
Global Irish Economic Forum. Famously, we are
happy to wear the green and shuffle up to Irish communities around the world on
St. Patrick’s Day for the access they give us to political and business leaders
around the world.
If the crisis has taught us to
appreciate a fuller understanding of what it is to be a citizens and what it
means to be engaged in the democratic life of our State, we cannot continue to
see our relationship with the diaspora in narrow and ad hoc terms. The fullness
of the People who form the State and who put their shoulders behind it must be
acknowledged.
Moreover, the returned spectre of
emigration has reminded us that an interest in the management of the State
doesn’t end when a person departs from Dublin or Shannon. Sadly, once again, we
all know people forced to emigrate through an economic necessity brought upon
them by government mismanagement. Their interest the in State and in its
recover, so that they may some day return, cannot be said to be anything less
than genuine.
That they are gone, for now, is bad
enough. Is it really necessary that they must be shut out too?
Moderate recommendation
The recommendation of the
Constitutional Convention is very moderate. While other countries give
nationals abroad voting rights in law-making bodies, the Convention recommended
only that Irish citizens in Northern Ireland and the Irish abroad should be
given voting rights in Presidential elections.
The President is the only office of
State directly elected by all of the People. The President promulgates all laws
on behalf of the People and receives foreign diplomats and figures as the head
of the Nation. As such, the Convention’s recommendation can be viewed as one
step in a journey towards a fuller acknowledgement of a more engaging idea of
Irish citizenship and of the place of the global Irish community among our
nation.
In the early stages of that
journey, do the Irish abroad not deserve an answer from the Government to the
Convention’s recommendations? Or will the Government repeat the old pattern of
neglect and discount? Are we happy to leave it to others to acknowledge their
contributions and for us to take from them only when it suits?
Oliver Moran is the
founder of Second Republic, a non-partisan organisation campaigning for
political reform since 2010. Second Republic campaigned for the establishment
of the Constitutional Convention. He lives in Cork. (www.2nd-republic.ie)
Sarah Cantwell is a member of
Votes for Irish Citizens Abroad (VICA) and also Second Republic’s Irish-abroad
spokesperson. VICA was formed by members of London’s Irish community calling
for the right of Irish citizens abroad to vote in elections in the Republic of
Ireland. Sarah is an Irish emigrant in London. (www.vica.ie)
Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community
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