We are resuming on the Bill and I call Senator Barrett.
Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed)
ALT 5
SECTION 5
Atairgeadh an cheist: "Go bhfanfaidh alt 5 mar chuid den Bhille."
Question again proposed: "That section 5 stand part of the Bill."
As part of the reforms, the people in the North might get to vote for the Presidency sometime in the future but their votes in Seanad elections are being withdrawn. That is a shame. I shall pass on the Minister of State's good news, so in fact he is more partitionist than anything that has applied under the 1937 Constitution-----
Hear, hear.
That is rubbish.
-----despite having signed up in 1998 to the Good Friday Agreement. It is shameful. Again it shows that the man cycling around the Ring of Kerry does not think things out. He does not attend this Seanad. He does not care about Northern Ireland. I would be trying to build bridges and extend the franchise. We are not a rotten borough. We have 55,000 in the constituency and 40,000 in the diaspora. It is an international university. It had these rights honoured by every Taoiseach since the Constitution was enacted. The Minister of State's Taoiseach is the one who is withdrawing them and that is shameful. He cannot simply say that we might give these people a vote for the Presidency sometime in the future. This is like people saying that when women did not have a vote, the solution was to abolish the Parliament. I would like everyone in Northern Ireland to have a vote. Why abolish the right for those who have a vote? It is a shame that the Minister of State does not appear to have consulted the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Northern Ireland Assembly about this. This is an Oireachtas that has allowed people both to be here from Northern Ireland and to vote for this House from Northern Ireland, and that is being swept away.
Including Unionists like John Robb.
Yes. Let us go for the Thirty-two Counties.
On the issue of disenfranchised citizens, I am sure the Minister of State would agree, given that he is a great fan of Daniel O'Connell, that other great Kerryman, that 184 years after the great emancipator secured votes for Catholics, 95 years after women secured the vote and 45 years after people marched in Derry for one man, one vote, that he finds it an affront to democracy that we continue to disenfranchise one in three persons entitled to be an Irish citizen under Articles 2 and 3.
Surely, the Minister of State would find that an affront to any democracy. As the Minister of State is aware, the establishment will never allow citizens outside the State to have a voice in the Dáil. The only place citizens living outside the jurisdiction would ever have a voice would be in a reformed Seanad. Giving them a vote in the presidential election is right and proper, but to turn around and get rid of the one Chamber that they could have a say in, as in other countries, is not right. We are in an appalling list of countries that do not offer votes to citizens living abroad. We are with Malta, Cyprus and Greece among 33 countries in the Council of Europe. Ireland is the fourth country in the list that does not afford votes to citizens living overseas. I call on the Minister of State to give his views-----
Ós rud é go bhfuil sé 6 p.m. anois, ní foláir dom an cheist seo a leanas a chur de réir ordú a rinne an Seanad an lá seo: "Go bhfanfaidh mar chuid den Bhille alt 5, go n-aontaítear leis seo i gCoiste Sceidil 1 go 4, agus an dá Sceideal sin san áireamh, an Réamhrá agus an Teideal agus go dtuairiscítear an Bille gan leasú dá réir sin don Teach."
As it is 6 p.m., I am now required to put the following question in accordance with an order of the Seanad of this day: "That section 5 stand part of the Bill, that Schedules 1 to 4, inclusive, the Preamble and the Title are hereby agreed to in Committee and the Bill is accordingly reported to the House without amendment."
Cuireadh an cheist:
Question put:
The Committee divided: Tá, 30; Níl, 19.
Tá
- Bacik, Ivana.
- Bradford, Paul.
- Brennan, Terry.
- Burke, Colm.
- Clune, Deirdre.
- Coghlan, Eamonn.
- Coghlan, Paul.
- Comiskey, Michael.
- Conway, Martin.
- Cummins, Maurice.
- D'Arcy, Jim.
- D'Arcy, Michael.
- Gilroy, John.
- Harte, Jimmy.
- Hayden, Aideen.
- Healy Eames, Fidelma.
- Henry, Imelda.
- Higgins, Lorraine.
- Keane, Cáit.
- Kelly, John.
- Moloney, Marie.
- Moran, Mary.
- Mulcahy, Tony.
- Mullins, Michael.
- Noone, Catherine.
- O'Keeffe, Susan.
- O'Neill, Pat.
- Sheahan, Tom.
- van Turnhout, Jillian.
- Whelan, John.
Níl
- Barrett, Sean D.
- Cullinane, David.
- Daly, Mark.
- Heffernan, James.
- MacSharry, Marc.
- Mooney, Paschal.
- Mullen, Rónán.
- Norris, David.
- Ó Clochartaigh, Trevor.
- Ó Domhnaill, Brian.
- O'Brien, Darragh.
- O'Brien, Mary Ann.
- O'Donovan, Denis.
- O'Sullivan, Ned.
- Quinn, Feargal.
- Reilly, Kathryn.
- Walsh, Jim.
- Wilson, Diarmuid.
- Zappone, Katherine.
Tellers: Tá, Senators Paul Coghlan and Aideen Hayden; Níl, Senators Ned O'Sullivan and Diarmuid Wilson..
Question declared carried.
Faisnéiseadh go rabhthas tar éis glacadh leis an gceist.
When is it proposed to take Report Stage?
Next Tuesday.
How cute they are to have that in the middle of the debate on the abortion legislation, and with the silly season coming on. They knew what they were doing. That is how much they care about discussion and letting the people know.
Faisnéiseadh go rabhthas tar éis glacadh leis an gceist.
Tairgeadh an cheist: "Go dtógfar an Tuarascáil Dé Máirt, 16 Iúil 2013."
Question put: "That Report Stage be taken next Tuesday, 16 July 2013."
Question put:
The Seanad divided: Tá, 30; Níl, 19.
Tá
- Bacik, Ivana.
- Bradford, Paul.
- Brennan, Terry.
- Burke, Colm.
- Clune, Deirdre.
- Coghlan, Eamonn.
- Coghlan, Paul.
- Comiskey, Michael.
- Conway, Martin.
- Cummins, Maurice.
- D'Arcy, Jim.
- D'Arcy, Michael.
- Gilroy, John.
- Harte, Jimmy.
- Hayden, Aideen.
- Healy Eames, Fidelma.
- Henry, Imelda.
- Higgins, Lorraine.
- Keane, Cáit.
- Kelly, John.
- Moloney, Marie.
- Moran, Mary.
- Mulcahy, Tony.
- Mullins, Michael.
- Noone, Catherine.
- O'Keeffe, Susan.
- O'Neill, Pat.
- Sheahan, Tom.
- van Turnhout, Jillian.
- Whelan, John.
Níl
- Barrett, Sean D.
- Cullinane, David.
- Daly, Mark.
- Heffernan, James.
- MacSharry, Marc.
- Mooney, Paschal.
- Mullen, Rónán.
- Norris, David.
- Ó Clochartaigh, Trevor.
- Ó Domhnaill, Brian.
- O'Brien, Darragh.
- O'Brien, Mary Ann.
- O'Donovan, Denis.
- O'Sullivan, Ned.
- Quinn, Feargal.
- Reilly, Kathryn.
- Walsh, Jim.
- Wilson, Diarmuid.
- Zappone, Katherine.
Tellers: Tá, Senators Paul Coghlan and Aideen Hayden; Níl, Senators Ned O'Sullivan and Diarmuid Wilson.
Question declared carried.
When is it proposed to sit again?
At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.