Results 101-120 of 1,141,440 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Réada Cronin OR speaker:Simon Coveney OR speaker:Seán Sherlock OR speaker:Denise Mitchell OR speaker:Duncan Smith OR speaker:Fergus O'Dowd OR speaker:Michael Healy-Rae OR speaker:Jackie Cahill OR speaker:Niall Collins OR speaker:Mattie McGrath OR speaker:Michael Creed OR speaker:Pádraig O'Sullivan OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív OR speaker:Mick Barry OR speaker:David Cullinane OR speaker:Dessie Ellis OR speaker:Pauline Tully OR speaker:Paul Donnelly OR speaker:Joe Flaherty OR speaker:Neasa Hourigan OR speaker:Stephen Donnelly OR speaker:Mark Ward OR speaker:Neale Richmond OR speaker:Pat Buckley OR speaker:Norma Foley OR speaker:Bernard Durkan OR speaker:Ruairi Ó Murchú OR speaker:Johnny Mythen OR speaker:Catherine Connolly OR speaker:Cathal Crowe OR speaker:Matt Carthy OR speaker:Richard Bruton OR speaker:Bernard Durkan9 OR speaker:Marc Ó Cathasaigh OR speaker:Eoin Ó Broin)

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: Now that the Minister may have a little more time on his hands, he should listen to "The Rest is Politics - Leading", a podcast with Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell, and the interview they did with Audrey Tang, the digital Minister in Taiwan. What Taiwan did around the co-designing of solutions is well worth a listen. It is amazing what was achieved in a relatively short period.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: I welcome our witnesses. I have been considering this issue for a long time. There is a massive Irish diaspora living across the world. I can only speak for myself, but the minute your foot steps outside this country, you become more patriotic. It does not matter where you are on holidays. You become more patriotic and it is as simple as that. In its response, the Department mentioned...

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: Is that people who are still Irish passport holders living abroad?

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: As I said, people feel more patriotic the minute they step outside the country than they do when they come in.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: That is a valid point. One would imagine, Chair, this would be a commonsense approach. If people still have their Irish passport with a reference number on it, that is a true identity document. Surely these people still have their PPS number as well. They should be able to vote online or go to the nearest embassy in whatever country they are in.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: It is because they will not-----

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: There is a lack of political will. It would involve amending the Electoral Act 1963. I have just marked it in my notes to flag the matter. We can see whether that can be changed. As out guests have said, the digital age is so advanced now that I cannot see major costs being incurred.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: People would log on to a Government website.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: People in Spain, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand or wherever could log on to MyGovID, type in their PPS number and passport number, show their ID and cast their vote.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: There is no politics at this committee. It is very good. On the response from the Department, reference was made to using MyGovID. It is a matter of putting another line in with a box, with, say, five names-----

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: In March 2017, the then Department of local government and housing and the Department of Foreign Affairs produced an options paper setting out what they called the broad range of options. Options are ideas and solutions but what got me were the references to voting rights, international comparisons, estimated costs and related resource issues, as well as legal, policy, administrative and...

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: They listed all the problems and said they did not really want what was proposed.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: It is a good step.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: Pandora's box has been opened.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: We are live on TV.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: Does Ms Nolan know where she is going after this committee meeting?

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: No, just to say that it is opening the door. The witnesses have done that now. They have opened the conversation again. This is a people's forum here. We are probably talking weeks when there will be a change of government. I would encourage the witnesses to come back because a petitions committee will be formed after a new Dáil. It has been trialled. Some places have disagreed...

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: The website is there already.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: We have enough of an IT gang on in this country who are so well-----

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition on Voting for Irish-born Citizens Abroad: Discussion (17 Oct 2024)

Pat Buckley: Definitely. Thanks a million to the witnesses for that. I hope they enjoyed their few minutes live on TV.