Rose Conway-Walsh calls to extend presidential vote to North, diaspora
Rose Conway-Walsh urged that the presidential franchise be extended to residents of Northern Ireland and to Irish citizens abroad, arguing that citizenship must include the right to vote. She accused the Government of 12 years of delay and criticised its failure to deliver a promised referendum under the Global Irish Diaspora Strategy 2020-25.
Franchise restricted to 26 counties
The speaker pointed out that the electorate is currently confined to Irish citizens living in the 26 counties and highlighted practical barriers - students unable to travel home in time, workers too far from designated polling booths, and citizens on holiday or working abroad on polling day. She called for postal voting and proxy voting to be extended to enable those citizens to vote.
Citizenship, identity and voting rights
Rose Conway-Walsh noted that over 700,000 people in the north now hold Irish passports and described the passport as a declaration of belonging and national identity. She argued that being an Irish citizen must mean more than possession of a passport and that the true expression of citizenship is the right to participate in democracy and to vote for the President of Ireland.
Legal and policy background
The speaker recalled that the 2013 Constitutional Convention voted overwhelmingly in favour of extending the presidential franchise to Northern citizens and Irish citizens living abroad. She also referenced the Government's Global Irish Diaspora Strategy 2020-25, which committed to holding a referendum, and criticised the absence of action as 2025 draws to a close.
Government criticised and political stakes
She described the Government's 12 years of 'reflecting' as unacceptable and morally wrong, accusing it of turning its face against extending this basic democratic right. Rose Conway-Walsh said the denial of the vote is a political choice by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, argued that Ireland is now an outlier while over 150 countries allow citizens abroad to vote, and asked why the Government is afraid to act.
A plea for change and future outlook
The speaker demanded that the issue be resolved in the first two years of the incoming Presidency and expressed the hope that this President will be the last Head of State on a partitioned island. She called for immediate action to correct what she described as a longstanding democratic injustice.
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This gruelling presidential campaign will result in an Irish president representing all of the people living on this island and the global family of Irish citizens and she will endeavour to make us all proud no matter where we live. Yet the electorate is confined to Irish citizens living in the 26 counties. Even that franchise is restricted where so many students cannot make it home in time to vote, workers living too far away from their designated polling booths or people on holiday or working abroad on polling day. Postal voting or proxy voting must be extended to enable, to make it possible for those citizens to vote. Then we turn to the north and the question must be asked, what does Irish citizenship mean? In 2013 the Constitutional Convention voted overwhelmingly in favour of extending the presidential franchise to both Northern citizens and Irish citizens living abroad. That question was settled. But let us ask ourselves today, what does it mean to be a citizen? Over 700,000 people in the north of Ireland now hold Irish passports, a number that has grown significantly since Brexit. They carry that passport not simply as a travel document but as a declaration of belonging, national identity, of faith in the republic they believe represents them. Being an Irish citizen must mean more than the possession of a passport. The true and practical expression of citizenship is the right to participate in democracy, the right to vote, to shape the leadership and direction of your nation. And that right, the right to choose the President of Ireland, the head of state for all of our people, has been denied to citizens resident in the north of Ireland and to our citizens abroad for far too long. The President of Ireland represents not just the 26 counties of this republic but the nation, the 32 counties of Ireland and the ever-expanding global Irish family across the world. It is frankly reprehensible that our Government continues to turn its face against extending this basic democratic right to the very people who embody that national identity. Yet in the 12 long years since what has been the Government's response? Your response today, or the Minister's response earlier today, was the Government is reflecting – 12 years of reflecting. It must be a world record for reflecting. Even in its Global Irish Diaspora Strategy 2020-25, the Government committed to holding a referendum on this issue. But here we are, almost at the end of 2025, and once again another presidential election will come and go, while all Irish citizens in the north remain voiceless in the choice of their head of state. So I ask again, where is the referendum? Where is the courage to act? There is no place left for this Government to hide in relation to Presidential Voting Rights Minister. It has to be put right. And it has to be put right now in the first two years of this Presidency. We must correct that. It is plainly unacceptable and morally wrong that the Government has failed to act on this promise. Ireland is now an outlier in the democratic world. Over 150 countries already granting their citizens abroad the right to vote in their national elections. Thousands of people living in this island, from citizens from other countries, can vote for the President of their country of origin. Why not Ireland? What is the Government afraid of? Let's be honest here. This is not about logistics or complexity or cost. It is about a political choice to deny Irish citizens the right to vote for their President. A choice made by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael who fear that extending the vote would expose their lack of representation in the north and remind the diaspora of the economic policies that force them to leave our shores. My deepest hope, Minister, is that our President, this President, will be the last Head of State on this partitioned island.
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