Letters to the Editor: Votes abroad the price of green jersey

One reader writes in to say that if Ireland wishes to keep citizens abroad engaged, then the 'least that can be done is to give us a vote'

One reader says that the only time in recent memory that the Irish abroad have seemed to matter electorally was when they were encouraged to 'come home to vote'.

Let us take a moment to remember those Irish citizens abroad who, unlike their fellow expatriates from most other countries, are completely disenfranchised.

I contrast this situation with that of France, my adopted home, where French citizens living abroad enjoy full voting rights in presidential and parliamentary elections. Furthermore, France has a number of dedicated constituencies — formed to give parliamentary representation to French overseas citizens.