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.