Voting rights - Bruton plea worth more consideration

RICHARD BRUTON, deputy leader of Fine Gael, has sought to spark a debate on voting rights by suggesting that all foreign nationals living in this country for three years and intending to stay longer should have a right to vote in general elections, whether they take out Irish citizenship or not.

He made the suggestion on his own initiative without seeking party support.

He believes such a move is necessary to give resident non-nationals a stake in Irish society and avoid the danger of alienation and segregation before these lead to the kind of problems witnessed recently in countries like France.

The proposal to initiate a debate certainly has merit, because we should learn from the problems of other countries with large migrant populations.

Providing the franchise would give people with no political clout a distinct say, and it would be a means of encouraging and promoting civic responsibility.

Mr Bruton noted that PPS numbers have been issued to 670,000 foreign workers from countries other than Britain since 2000.

If all were able to vote they would make up about 20% of the voting population.

Ignoring such a large segment of society would be an invitation to trouble.

Whether Mr Bruton proposal actually provides the answer may be open to debate, but it certainly merits consideration.