Madam, – Claire McCarthy (February 2nd) implies that Ireland is somehow unusual in denying non-citizens the right to vote, but that is not the case.
I have lived in Australia for almost four years, and I now hold permanent resident status here. I am married to an Australian, and I have Australian children. I own a house here, I am in permanent employment, and I pay my fair share of tax. Despite all that, I am still not eligible to vote here, in any kind of election. This is not an unusual set of circumstances for an immigrant, so I do not feel hard done by. The reality is that most countries only allow their own citizens to vote in elections.
Ireland is more accommodating than most other countries in this regard, in that all residents, regardless of citizenship, can vote in local elections.
Incidentally, I am not yet eligible to even apply for Australian citizenship, but if we had lived in Ireland for the past few years, my wife would have been entitled to Irish citizenship some time ago. From my perspective, it’s hard to argue that Ireland’s treatment of immigrants is unduly harsh. – Yours, etc,