Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 March 2022
383. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to hold a referendum on extending the franchise in Presidential elections to Irish citizens living outside the State as outlined in the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11756/22]
View answerMy Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs have worked closely on this issue and, on 16 September 2019, the Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (Presidential Elections) Bill 2019 was initiated in Dáil Éireann by the then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to facilitate the holding of a referendum on this issue.
The Bill provides for amendments to Article 12 of the Constitution which, if passed by the people in a referendum, would extend the right to vote for the office of President to all citizens, irrespective of where they may reside, for elections held on or after 1 January 2025, which would be the beginning of the year in which the next scheduled election for the office of President would fall due.
The Programme for Government - Our Shared Future - commits to holding a referendum on extending the franchise at presidential elections to Irish citizens resident outside of the State. While the Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (Presidential Elections) Bill 2019 lapsed with the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil Éireann, in support of the Government commitment, the Bill was restored to the Dáil Order Paper in July 2020.
When the Bill is passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas, section 10 of the Referendum Act 1994 requires the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to make an order appointing the day upon which the poll for the proposed referendum will take place. The Act provides that the polling day shall be not less than thirty days and not more than ninety days after the date of the order.
