Forty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Voting Rights in Presidential Elections) Bill 2025: Second Stage [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-30
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Emer Higgins (FG), Dublin Mid-West

The Government recognises that conversations on issues like this lead to more specific discussion and engagement, North and South, about constitutional change more broadly, as provided for under the Good Friday Agreement. That is why we are not opposing this Bill and why we want to have this debate in this Chamber. However, I do not appreciate some of the comments the Deputy has made in his remarks. These are extremely important issues and they naturally require very careful and serious consideration.
We have taken careful note of the reports published by the last Oireachtas on these issues. The full implementation and effective operation of the Good Friday Agreement is an absolute priority for this Government. In addition to the rights regarding identity, the principle of consent and the possibility of change in the constitutional status of Northern Ireland are fundamental elements of the Good Friday Agreement endorsed by the people of this island, the island of Ireland, both North and South. The approach of any Irish Government regarding Irish unity is guided by Article 3 of the Constitution, as amended by the people in 1998, as the Deputy will be aware.
The Government firmly respects and affirms everyone's right on the island to make the case for the constitutional future they wish to see, whether they are nationalist, unionist or neither. The Good Friday Agreement and the two sovereign Governments explicitly recognise and validate the legitimacy of views on these constitutional positions. Our focus through the shared island initiative is in working towards a shared future underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement. That approach is necessary, regardless of whatever shape, future or constitutional change may take on this island or between these groups.
I am talking about constitutional change because, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, the Bill would require constitutional change. The Deputy's Bill would require a referendum. The issue of voting rights in the Irish presidential elections, as I said earlier, was debated in the Northern Ireland Assembly last year and we have been supportive of the work undertaken by the Convention on the Constitution. This is not without its challenges and Deputies Crowe, Ó Murchú and Tóibín had specific queries and comments regarding those challenges I mentioned.
Ultimately, the issue of expanding the right to vote in presidential elections for Irish citizens resident outside of the State and those in Northern Ireland is a sensitive topic and requires thorough and respectful dialogue across this House. I commend Members this evening on their contributions and note that until recently, it was mature and constructive debate, which is a debate I want to engage in. On the specifics of this Bill, namely, expanding the franchise to Irish citizens in Northern Ireland, the Good Friday Agreement makes clear the people of Northern Ireland can, as we all appreciate and respect, identify as British, Irish or both. Article 2 of the Constitution, as amended, forms a key part of the agreement and ensures the entitlement and birthright of every person born on the island of Ireland to be part of the Irish nation.
This Government and all governments since 1998 have advocated for and defended that right, and we must do so as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement and will continue to do so. However, the issue of extending the franchise for voting in presidential elections is not straightforward. The work undertaken by the Convention on the Constitution and voting rights and other matters was important, and the detailed 2017 options paper on the matter prepared by the Department of housing, planning, community and local government and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, considered a range of policy, legal and logistical matters that need consideration. As I said earlier, these include the register of electors and postal voting, for example. I am not saying it cannot be done; I am saying it requires careful thought and preparation, as well as securing a positive result in a referendum.
The Government is focused on what is attainable - the art of the possible. We want to hold a referendum that we can win. We believe that if you hold a referendum, you need to be in a position to win it. That is why it is imperative that we continue to maintain cross-party dialogue on this topic and that we continue to be respectful of people when it comes to it.
I wish to reassure the Dáil that the Government takes this matter seriously. We are not opposing this Bill for that reason. We are, as I said earlier, reflecting on it and on how best to work on it going forward.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-30