I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
The purpose of this Bill is to make provision for the extension of voting rights at Dáil elections to persons other than Irish citizens, who are normally resident here. Under existing law, the right to vote at Dáil elections is confined to Irish citizens resident in this country.
As Deputies are aware, the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 1983, which was passed by both Houses, proposed to extend voting rights at Dáil and presidential elections and at referenda to British citizens resident here. That Bill, which was referred by the President to the Supreme Court in accordance with Article 26 of the Constitution, was ruled to be repugnant to the Constitution. Following that ruling, the Government decided to bring forward a Bill to amend the Constitution to enable the right to vote to be determined by legislation.
The Ninth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1984, which was passed by both Houses in April last year, was referred to the people for decision by way of referendum in June 1984. That Bill, which was approved at the referendum, had the effect of allowing the Oireachtas to extend to non-citizens resident in the State, the right to vote at Dáil elections.
The effect of the Bill now before the House will be to provide for the extension of voting rights at Dáil elections, on a reciprocal basis, to citizens of EC member states resident here. The United Kingdom already allows Irish citizens resident there to vote in parliamentary elections and, in recognition of this, the Bill confers directly on British citizens resident here the right to vote at Dáil elections. At present, no other member state gives voting rights at parliamentary elections to Irish citizens. But the Bill makes provision for reciprocating the granting of such a right, should it occur, by ministerial order, subject of course to the prior approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas.
The requirements as regards entitlement to the Dáil vote for Irish citizens will of course apply in relation to non-citizens. A minimum age of 18 years will apply; there can be no discrimination on the grounds of sex; the person concerned must be free from legal disqualifications in relation to voting and he must be ordinarily resident in the State. The Bill also makes provision for specifying criteria to determine whether persons resident here are nationals of other member states for the purpose of this Bill.
Apart from section 2, which is the section providing for the extension of the franchise, the rest of the Bill is taken up with consequential technical changes. These arise mainly from the fact that the extension of voting rights relates only to Dáil elections, and voting rights at presidential elections and referenda will still be confined to Irish citizens. This means that a new category of elector must be defined. The Bill proposes a category of "presidential elector" which will be confined to Irish citizens; only persons in this category will be allowed to vote at presidential elections and referenda.
During the debates on the 1983 Bill and on the Ninth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1984, many Deputies expressed the view that any extension of voting rights should not be confined to nationals of one particular country and that there should be provision for the granting of voting rights to nationals of other member states of the EC resident here. I am sure those Deputies will now welcome the wider provisions of this Bill enabling this to be done on a reciprocal basis.
This country is unique in that we are the only member state of the EC which allows nationals from all other member states the right to vote at both European and local elections without reciprocation. The provisions of this Bill can be seen as a further development of this country's open approach to the granting of the franchise to a wide category of foreigners living here. I hope it will also be seen as an important first step towards mutual extension of voting rights at parliamentary elections among EC member states.
The extension of voting rights at Dáil elections to British citizens is a reflection of the special relationship which exists between the two countries, as well as redressing an imbalance which has existed for many years with so many Irish citizens voting at parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom. I hope the Bill will contribute to the relationship and to understanding between both countries.
I commend the Bill to the House.