What’s happened to Fine Gael’s pre-election promise on embassy voting?
Friday, May 20th, 2011Fine Gael’s pre-election promise regarding embassy voting in Presidential elections has apparently been forgotten.
On Wednesday, Sinn Fein TD Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin South Central) asked the following question:
The Taoiseach made a pre-election promise on political reform to give voting rights to the diaspora for the presidential election. Will the Government consider fast tracking legislation to afford a right to Irish citizens living in Ireland, but outside the 26 Counties, to participate in the election of the first citizen?
The response from Taoiseach Enda Kenny? Eight disappointing words:
“There is no legislation promised in this area.�
This despite the fact that in the 2011 general election, Fine Gael included this commitment in their manifesto:
Fine Gael will reduce the voting age to 17 and give eligible citizens the right to vote at Irish embassies in the Presidential election. If this experiment is deemed a success Fine Gael will consider extending this practice to general elections.
This commitment, while vague in its lack of specification as to who the “eligible citizens� were, was a clear signal of intent to allow voting rights for citizens abroad. Comments from politicians such as Simon Coveney seemed at the time to indicate that Fine Gael actually meant it.
The formulation of this commitment in the programme for government, however, was disappointing. In the programme, the government bounced the issue of embassy voting to the proposed Constitutional Convention, saying
We will refer to the Constitutional Convention the issue of reducing the Voting Age to 17 and giving citizens the right to vote at Irish embassies in the presidential election.
This despite the fact that there is currently no constitutional prohibition on voting rights for the Irish abroad.
Meanwhile, Ireland remains the only country in the EU with no option for emigrant voting, and the number of countries allowing their emigrants to vote continues to grow. Every week, it seems, brings news of another country committed to facilitating their expats to vote, with Haiti and Nigeria being among the latest to announce upcoming implementations of diaspora voting.
Relocation queries up, say directory enquiries
Monday, May 16th, 2011Informal indicators of emigration trends always intrigue me – we only get formal stats from the Central Statistics Office once a year, so any numbers that pop up in the meantime are interesting, if not necessarily reliable.
From the Irish Independent comes this one:
The number of calls to 11850 directory enquiries seeking contacts for sales training is up 114 per cent in the year, adding evidence to our other entrepreneurship indicator that the spirit of enterprise is alive and well in Ireland! However, emigration is very much a growing characteristic of the nation, with relocation queries bumping up 140 per cent.
Economist calls for research on new Irish emigrants
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011The experiences of today’s young emigrants to Australia should be researched in order to understand their lives compared to the lives of earlier emigrants and those who remain in Ireland, suggests an Irish economist writing in an Australian website.
Colm Harmon, Professor of Economics at Australian National University and also at University College Dublin, notes the scale of the accelerating Irish migration to Australia:
The Irish are now the third largest migrant group in absolute terms for employer sponsored (457) visas, and proportional to our population by a large way the biggest migrant group in this category.
Ireland is sending about one-third the total numbers the UK is sending – with 20 times the population! More Irish are arriving on 457s then the total from the entire rest of the European continent.
The increase in this number year on year is about one-third more than the increase of UK or other Europeans, so the share is growing.
Professor Harmon asserts – correctly, I believe – that the future for most of these emigrants will be in their adopted country, due to the Ireland’s bleak economic prospects. He then makes two assertions I’d disagree with:
- That these emigrants “won’t have a role” in Ireland’s economic recovery.
- That “this may be the first Irish migrant cohort to Australia who won’t be looking over their shoulders at the old country, won’t have the sense of attachment that previous generations held.”
On the first point, I suspect we’ll be asking our emigrants for much in the future. One could say, for example, that even by taking themselves out of the dole queues that these young people have already started doing their bit for Ireland’s economic recovery. In the future, they’ll be contributing through a variety of means, as emigrants always have. I’ve heard of emigrants sending money home to support younger brothers and sisters, to name just the most direct (and traditional) channel of economic support. But in the future there will also be business networking, diaspora-related FDI, visits home, green-flag-flying, and those who will return home to transform “brain drain” into “brain circulation”.
On the second point, I’m not sure how this generation of Facebookers, Tweeters and Skypers will be any less attached to Ireland than the generations whose main contact with Ireland was a dwindling exchange of letters sent over on a slow boat.
Where I do agree wholeheartedly, however, is with Professor Harmon’s suggestion that this is an important cohort to study. He says:
If I can make one appeal, I would urge the very many successful Irish-Australians – or even Irish in Australia – to consider endowing the costs of capturing the experiences of this group through research and understanding the life trajectory of this group compared to those that came before them, and those that remained in Ireland.
I would love to see such a study, but I’d love to make it global. How does the experience of being Irish in Galway differ from that of being Irish in Beijing or Toronto or Dubai? Imagine being able to explore similarities and differences in issues of mental and physical health, longevity, happiness, family life, engagement with Ireland – you name it.
See Professor Harmon’s entire article at theconversation.edu.au.
Certificate of Irish Heritage coming… soon?
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011The government issued an update on the Certificates of Irish Heritage. The certificate is intended for those who are not citizens but who would like official recognition of their Irish affinity. The initiative was announced in June 2010 by Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, who said at the time that the first recipients would be getting their certificates by the end of last year.
It’s emerged now that the contract for the project hasn’t been signed, although the company chosen for the project, Fexco, was announced several months ago. Current Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore gave an update through a written answer to a Dáil question. Here’s the exchange (via kildarestreet.com):
Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
Question 35: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding the introduction of a certificate of Irish heritage; if the process will offer applicants the opportunity to be informed of future initiatives on the marketing of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8910/11]
Eamon Gilmore (Tánaiste; Minister, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
The Certificate of Irish Heritage is in the process of being established by my Department in direct response to a strong demand for such a scheme from those members of our Diaspora who are not entitled to Irish citizenship. I believe that the scheme will provide a practical demonstration of the inclusive approach adopted by successive Governments to our Diaspora. The Certificate of Irish Heritage will give official recognition to the many people worldwide who are conscious of their Irish heritage and feel a strong affinity for Ireland. It will not, however, confer any citizenship or other legal rights or entitlements to the successful applicants. Those applying for Certificates of Irish Heritage will be required to submit comprehensive details of their Irish ancestral connections and relevant documents and certificates to show their connection with Ireland.
It is expected that contract negotiations with the company selected to operate the service on behalf of my Department will be completed shortly and an announcement will be made thereafter. While there may be scope, in due course, for some Government Departments and State Agencies to develop products and services aimed at Certificate holders, our primary focus at present is to establish the Certificate scheme itself. The Certificate is just one of a number of initiatives being undertaken by the Government to build further practical links between Ireland and the global Irish.
So it looks like it may still be some time before these certificates will be hanging on walls in Boston or Buenos Aires.
I’ve said before that I think the Certificate is a positive step, but that I’d prefer to see something like the “Book of Scottish Connections”, which would be a more interactive way of developing the relationship between Ireland and the Irish abroad. In any case, it will be interesting to see how this develops.
Will Kenny nominate a diaspora senator?
Monday, May 9th, 2011There has been speculation that Taoiseach Enda Kenny might choose a representative of the diaspora to serve in the Seanad. Reports say that he will be making the announcement of his chosen representatives this week, but he has so far made no comment on whether he was seriously considering the move.
The speculation is partly driven by a call from Senator Darragh O’Brien to do so. Earlier this month, he said:
“The global Irish community can play a significant role in Ireland’s economic recovery and should be given a national voice. With 60 million people worldwide claiming Irish heritage and 40 million of those in the United States alone I think it is extremely important that the Taoiseach uses his upcoming appointments to the Seanad to nominate a representative of the Irish Diaspora.�
“This is something Mr. Kenny himself has called for in the past and he is now in a unique position to deliver it. Fianna Fáil will support such a nomination and I believe many people across all parties would also be supportive of the move.�
This isn’t a new suggestion, but even this extremely modest form of political representation for emigrants has been a tough one for Irish politicians to take on. For example, the Seanad’s sub-committee on reform of the Seanad gave this rather lukewarm recommendation in their 2004 report:
The Sub-Committee is therefore of the view that the Taoiseach, when selecting his nominees for the Seanad, should include people who can represent the interests and perspectives of both emigrants and immigrants.
More importantly, Labour and Fine Gael, in their joint policy document, “Caring for the Irish Abroad�, published in 2006, said, “We support emigrant representation in Seanad Eireann for Irish communities overseas�. There is no corresponding commitment in their programme for government, however.
The idea has been reported with some enthusiasm in the Irish press abroad. For example New York’s Irish Echo gave the idea a broad welcome, but suggested it might not go far enough:
Taoiseach Enda Kenny, in New York this week, is poised to nominate 11 members of Seanad Eireann. It has been suggested that one of them be a representative from the diaspora. Kenny himself was proposing three Senate members representing the diaspora just a few years back so it will be interesting to see what happens.
Just one seems like a bit of a back hand to the global Irish economy. None at all would be seen by some as a kick in the transom.
The editorial asks who might be a likely candidate, then posits rather modestly, “There are certainly a few possible contenders, one of them being the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform’s Ciaran Staunton.�
In fact, the Irish Echo’s editor, Ray O’Hanlon, had been widely tipped back in 2006 and 2007 to be the first diaspora senator (as I wrote at the time). Back then, O’Hanlon had been in talks with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to be an agreed candidate to replace Fine Gael Senator Jim Higgins who was to step down because of his role as MEP. Senator Higgins had said at the time he would be willing to resign if there could be an agreed candidate representing the diaspora. The deal was hinging on an agreement from Fianna Fail not to contest the seat in a by-election. I don’t know precisely what scuppered the plan, but it all came to naught, and Ireland’s diaspora remains unrepresented to this day.
Of course, the relevance of all this speculation may be rather short-lived, given the Government’s enthusiasm for abolishing the Seanad altogether. In any case, it’s disappointing to see how easy it is for Irish politicians to support diaspora representation when they are out of power, as Fine Gael/Labour did and Fianna Fail does now. Here’s hoping that the current Government will take the history-making first step toward incorporating diaspora voices into our political system.
Second Global Irish Economic Forum: Dublin Castle, 7-8 October, 2011
Saturday, May 7th, 2011I’m a little late on this, but I wanted to note that Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore has announced the second Global Irish Economic Forum. It will be held on 7-8 October, 2011.
I’ll post up some more thoughts on this later, but in the meantime, here’s the press release from the Department of Foreign Affairs, issued 3 May:
The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Eamon Gilmore, T.D., announced today that the Government will host a second Global Irish Economic Forum in Dublin Castle on 7-8 October, 2011. The Tánaiste decided to proceed with holding the Forum this year given the important contribution it can make towards building Ireland’s reputation among the international Irish business community.
The primary purposes of the 2011 Forum will be to:
- Engage fully with the Irish Diaspora in developing Ireland’s global business and trade relations;
- Discuss face-to-face the Government’s  priorities for economic renewal with key members of the international business community;
- Strengthen ties with the Irish Diaspora as a key part of the Government’s efforts to restore Ireland’s international reputation abroad.
Speaking after today’s Government meeting during which the initiative was approved, Mr Gilmore said:
“The Government recognises the valuable role the global Irish can play in Ireland’s economic recovery. This Forum will provide an opportunity for us to meet with key members of the Diaspora and to discuss our priorities for economic renewal, job creation and the restoration of Ireland’s reputation abroad.�
Invitations will issue shortly to members of the Global Irish Network, which was established after the first Global Irish Economic Forum held at Farmleigh House in September, 2009. The Network now consists of over 300 of the most influential Irish and Irish-connected individuals abroad, all of whom have demonstrated a strong affiliation with Ireland and have a record of high achievement in international business or in assisting in the promotion of Ireland.
In addition to the Network members, a small number of senior Irish based individuals from the business and cultural worlds will be invited. The Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Cabinet Ministers and senior representatives from Government Departments and State Agencies will also attend.
Referring to the important role played by the Global Irish Network, the Tánaiste noted:
“Based across 37 countries, Network members provide Ireland with an invaluable resource of international expertise from which we can draw as we work towards economic recovery. In the year since its inception, members have worked closely with the Government and State Agencies in promoting Ireland’s economic, cultural and tourism messages in key markets. The Network is an important partner in our ongoing efforts to restore our international reputation�.
“This Forum will be the first time the entire Network has come together and the Taoiseach and I are looking forward to welcoming them all to Dublin for a frank and intensive exchange of ideas�.