A chara, – Sheila Barrett (July 1st) asks a very good question – when will Irish emigrants be given the vote? It should be noted that some emigrants already have the vote, which makes the current situation all the more unjust, unequal and even comical. Members of the diplomatic corps and Defence Forces can vote in Oireachtas elections when abroad. All Irish university graduates have the postal vote for Seanad elections from wherever they are in the world. And of course Irish emigrants from Northern Ireland can continue to vote in Northern Irish elections when they leave the island. The Republic has the dubious distinction of being the only country in the European Union that disenfranchises its emigrant citizens. And now for the truly comical – all Irish emigrants living abroad can in fact stand for and be elected to the Dáil, but cannot vote themselves. – Is mise,
CIARÁN Mac GUILL,
Rue Gaston Paymal,
Clichy, France.