Bertie Ahern
Question:24 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment whether it is intended to hold constitutional referenda on votes for emigrants. [17279/96]
Written Answers. - Voting Rights for Emigrants.
The Government's position on this matter was the subject of a public statement on 9 October last. The statement referred to the fact that, in the Seanad, a wide range of views were expressed on the proposals published by the Government last March, and it noted that, while the Dáil Select Committee on Finance and General Affairs had endorsed the principle of Seanad representation for emigrants, it has proposed that the six Seanad university seats be abolished and the number of emigrant seats increased to at least five.
The statement went on to point out that five emigrant voting groups expressed varying degrees of opposition to Seanad representation for emigrants, even as a first step towards full voting rights, and that 39 other organisations and individuals commented on the proposals; eight were fully supportive and the remainder were either opposed to them or indicated reluctant acceptance of them.
As already announced, the Government has decided not to proceed on the basis of the consultation paper, given the divergence of views on how best to proceed. It will be open to the allparty committee on the Constitution, in the context of its review of the functions and role of the Seanad, to consider the rationale for, and the relative merits of, university and emigrant representation, having regard, in particular, to the views of the Constitution Review Group and the wider issue of Seanad reform.