1525375_190900321102388_641664756_nScreen Shot 2014-12-16 at 10.26.18

Two submissions from last year’s We’re Coming Back’s Toast For A Vote campaign with Cian McCarthy and friends in Japan, top, and Kate Cunningham and friends in Scotland

Conor O’Neill, from We’re Coming Back, writes:

“This Christmas weekend (19-21st), Irish people around the world are coming together to show their support for an emigrant vote.”

“In the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and most of Europe, expat citizens retain their voting rights while abroad. Ireland is about to decide if it takes its place among them – Government has promised a decision by Christmas on whether Irish citizens abroad can vote in Irish Presidential elections.”

We’re raising a collective toast in support, together. Home or abroad, we want you to raise a glass and join us! Take a photo of your toast, send it to us on Facebook, or tweet #toastforavote at @WCBIreland. Invite your friends to do the same. This Christmas weekend, let’s send a message of support, from all over the world.”

“Sláinte!”

Toast For A Vote 2014

Why the Government should call a referendum on a vote for Irish emigrants (David Burns and Conor O’Neill, Irish Times)

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17 thoughts on “Raise A Glass

  1. Colm

    Why should they get the vote, they’ve emigrated. Presumably they’re not paying tax in Ireland. They want to vote that much, let them come back and vote.

    1. Rob_G

      I would be broadly in agreement with you (certainly for national elections), but allowing emigrants to vote in Presidential elections might be a nice gesture.

    2. ahjayzis

      What’s the problem with recent emigrants (i.e. those who have left during the lifetime of the government in question, voting on said government? I mean, if a government’s policies contribute to forcing people abroad to look for work, surely it’s only fair that the victims are allowed pass judgement? Obviously someone ten, twenty years out of the country is a different story.

      Also, big whoop, the least important election imaginable, not worth the hassle of the paperwork.

    3. Eoghan

      I’m an emigrant and have lived abroad for 6 years, have been paying property tax since its inception, and the NPPR before that. I will be liable for water if/when charges come in. I’ve also been in a situation where I have paid UCS, etc. while working outside of Ireland. And yet throughout all that time I have been unable to vote because I am abroad, despite still being on the electoral register. Why shouldn’t I get to vote in a GE, when government decisions have a direct impact on my life? And, I hardly think I am a unique case…

      1. Spaghetti Hoop

        Fair point. Having an active PPS and paying tax sounds to me like valid criteria for a vote in any of the elections. Having just a nostalgic interest in the affairs of the Sate would not.

      2. Rob_G

        I would be interested to know how you are liable for the UCS (if that is not too personal a question). It could be argued that the NPPR & water charges are elective taxes.

    1. John E. Bravo

      I’m an emigrant and would like there to be a minister for emigrants in the Dáil, voted directly by people living abroad. Ultimately, I would like there to be a lobby to make it easier for people to move home. I mightn’t bother voting in the Pres. really, whether I was still living in Ireland or not.

  2. Just a thought

    Inaccurate reporting – UK expats do not retain their right to vote. UK citizens are allowed a postal vote if they are going to be out of the country on voting day but only if they are ordinarily resident – the 185 day rule. If you are not ordinarily resident you lose your vote until you become so again.

  3. Dubloony

    Am torn on this.
    If you have taken citizenship somewhere else, as in you’re not coming back, then you should not have a vote.
    If you are working/living abroad but have retained links (define?) the you should have a vote.
    If you are on a temp 1-2 year visa, then you should have a vote.
    If you have emigrated say over 10 years, then no vote.

    We have a huge diaspora, some stuck in misty eyed aul Catholic sod mode (Knights of Columbanus anyone?) but have not intention of ever living here and who will not feel the effects of their vote.
    For others who want a future here, and want to come back to a better place, then let them help make it a better place.

    1. ahjayzis

      +1, exactly my thoughts.

      I may not be a hallowed property owner but it’s more than ‘nostalgia’ as someone said above. Government policy made it so I couldn’t support myself in Ireland anymore, likes tens of thousands of others, and conveniently we’re the group the government has nothing to fear from. I intend to return home, that’s a valid interest in the state.

      If I had consigned myself to a decade on the dole, becoming increasingly unemployable, I’d have a vote.

  4. Formerly known as @ireland.com

    I would like to see a few senators representing emigrants. That would be a hell of a lot more representative than the current Seanad. As the Seanad is a waste of time, there would be no impact to those living in Ireland. The Italians allowed there Diaspora to elect senators in the early 2000’s.

    Interestingly, if you are a Brit, who arrived in Australia before 1984, you can vote, without ever becoming a citizen.

  5. Kieran NYC

    I think maybe emigrants should get a vote in referenda or Presidential elections. But probably capped at ten years.

Comments are closed.

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