Sir, – Every year, Irish nationals leave Ireland in search of greener pastures, and eventually some return “home” bring with them capital, new attitudes, skills, innovations, and expertise that have helped Ireland for the past 300 years. It was Irish nationals abroad who set the stage that enabled Irish leaders climb the ranks of the European Union, and the United Nations, yet this group of citizens are excluded and without any type of representation in their “homeland.”
When one looks at the current level of engagement with Irish nationals abroad, one would think they are completely different to the generations that went before them, and that they, unlike the generations before them, lost their national interest in Ireland once they stepped off the island. Of course, this is not the case, as reflective through their continuous support and promotion of Ireland across the world. Since 1922, and the establishment of the State, there has been a failure or, I dare say, a refusal to engage them in a meaningful way with representation like most countries in the European Union. Why?
With representation comes a vast improvement in the connectiveness to what is a major political and economic resource, yet today that resource is largely untapped and there is no “real” engagement in the manner that would benefit Ireland.
Despite the claims that Ireland is one of the more progressive and inclusive countries in Europe, Ireland’s citizens living abroad have never been included like other European nations; indeed, two-thirds of the world’s nations include their citizens living abroad with some type of representation at home.
New Irish citizens: ‘I hear the racist and xenophobic slurs on the streets. Everything is blamed on immigrants’
Jack Reynor: ‘We were in two minds between eloping or going the whole hog but we got married in Wicklow with about 220 people’
‘I could have gone to California. At this rate, I probably would have raised about half a billion dollars’
Matt Williams: Take a deep breath and see how Sam Prendergast copes with big Fiji test
A major complaint of Irish citizens living abroad is that there is no person to represent them in Dublin. When they have an issue, who is there for them? No one!
Local TDs and Senators represent the people who elect them, not those who live abroad. So, when a citizen abroad has an issue that requires attention, they are usually told to contact the nearest consulate, which often does not have the expertise. They are then left to their own devices to contact Ireland directly and deal with a cumbersome bureaucracy, which often lacks cooperation (because they don’t live there) so they get frustrated and give up. This amounts to multiple lost opportunities for Ireland.
Recently, the Supreme Court found the legislation governing the election of senators to the Seanad university panels unconstitutional. The reform of said third-level representation provides an opportunity for the Government to address the issue of representation for their nationals abroad. The establishment of a small number of global regions and the election of Seanad representatives for each would go a long way to resolve the issue of representation and would establish stronger bonds with Irish nationals living abroad, which can only benefit the nation.
Now is the time for action. Hopefully there will be some frank discussions on April 20th and 21st at the third Global Irish Civic Forum in Dublin Castle, followed by Government action leading to representation for Ireland’s citizens abroad. – Yours, etc,
HILARY BEIRNE,
Executive Board Member, VotingRights.ie,
Global Irish Civic Forum
Panellist,
New York.