Leitrim councillor condemns Government’s failure to grant presidential vote to diaspora

A Leitrim councillor has expressed disappointment that the Irish diaspora will not be granted a vote by the Government in the upcoming presidential election this November.

In January, Cllr Justin Warnock called on elected members at a meeting of Leitrim County Council to support a push for the Government and all Oireachtas members to pass legislation for the promised referendum outlined in the Diaspora Strategy.

In 2020, the Government approved a Diaspora Strategy 2020 - 2025, which included plans for a referendum to extend presidential voting rights to Irish citizens wherever they reside. However, this has yet to happen.

The motion was unanimously supported by all councillors at the time.

When he tabled the motion in January, Cllr Warnock described Irish citizens abroad being unable to vote as “one of the biggest failures of this state and country,” and a “total neglect of the state.”

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Expressing disappointment that voting rights have once again not been extended to Irish citizens abroad, he highlighted that an entire generation of Irish emigrants will never have the chance to vote.

“We’re denying our citizens abroad a vote and unfortunately the people that left in the 30s and 40s aren’t going to be around when the Government affords them the opportunity to vote. Another generation of people will never have a vote,” Cllr Warnock said.

He also pointed out that Ireland is just one of three countries in Europe that do not grant their citizens living abroad the right to vote, alongside Slovakia and Malta.

“Leitrim County Council and councillors were fully supportive of the motions I had down to try and bring this to a head,” he said. “We tried but unfortunately the powers that be didn’t listen to our call.”

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Currently, only a small number of Irish citizens abroad have the right to vote. Members of the armed forces and diplomatic services abroad can participate in Dáil elections, and graduates of NUI and Trinity can vote in Seanad elections regardless of where they live. 

Yet the right to vote in presidential elections remains out of reach, off the table for at least the next seven years.