Vol. 540 No. 1
71 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if EU citizens resident here should be allowed to vote in referendums on fundamental EU related matters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17763/01]
Article 47.3 of the Constitution provides that the right to vote at a referendum shall be confined to citizens of Ireland who are eligible to vote at Dáil elections. The extension of the right to vote at a referendum to resident nationals of another country would, irrespective of the topic of any referendum, require an enactment of the Constitution. Proposals for such an amendment have not been sponsored in the past nor are they at present envisaged.
