Call for a vote for Irish abroad

Irish citizens living abroad should have the right to vote in the next presidential election, the Union of Students in Ireland has said. A campaign organised by the USI in conjunction with votingrights.ie is calling for a referendum on the right to vote in presidential elections for Irish citizens living outside of the State.

As part of its extensive brief, the constitutional convention conducted research to guage attitudes towards the issue. Of those asked 'Should citizens resident outside the State have the right to vote in presidential elections?," 78 per cent of participants said Yes, 28 per cent said No and 1 per cent had No opinion.

The USI and votingrights.ie campaign say Irish citizens and Irish groups abroad should also have representation on an electoral commission.

"Campaigns led by young people such as the #HomeToVote and the#GetTheBoat2Vote campaigns during the marriage equality referendum last year showed that the efforts of Irish citizens abroad to be involved in shaping their country is real", USI president Kevin Donoghue said.

"We believe that many Irish citizens have left their home, for whatever reason, and many of those who left have the desire to play a significant role in their native state" Annie Hoey, USI deputy president, said. "Many Irish citizens may wish to return home to a country they had an active role in shaping through their democratic right by voting."

Noreen Bowden, co-founder of VotingRights.ie said: "It's important that young people be fully informed of the current situation and know that if they leave the country it means they will be losing their votes as well. Ireland is at the bottom of the EU tables when it comes to protecting the right of its overseas citizens to vote. Indeed, over 125 nations protect the right of their citizens living overseas to vote but not Ireland. Irish citizens, like emigrants of every other country, are affected by policy decisions made at home.

"These policy decisions can affect whether there will be jobs for emigrants who want to return, for example. They can also affect their access to education or support for job seeking when they return. And while they are away, they could be affected by matters such as emigrant support or consular protection if they run into difficulties. This is not a sentimental matter- it's a matter of citizens of a nation being allowed a say in their futures."