Of course if you feel that the Irish government makes no decisions that affect your life, you’d be free not to vote in Irish elections, whether or not other Irish citizens living abroad have that right. There are some people living abroad, however, who do feel that decisions made in Ireland are affecting their lives. Some Irish people would like to return home, and feel they cannot do so because of the economy or circumstances around social welfare (like the habitual residency condition). Others are paying the tax on non-primary residences because they have inherited the family home, so they are being taxed without being entitled to representation. Others are entitled to Irish pensions and are thus affected by social welfare policies.

With almost every developed nation allowing its emigrants to vote, I’m not sure it’s reasonable to say there’s little logical reason for it. Many people regard voting as the most basic right of citizenship – why should you lose it just because you are exercising your right to work abroad in the EU, for example, or because you are forced to go abroad to seek work and intend to return home? Plus there’s the fact that the government is working very hard to engage economically with our emigrants – how much more can we continue to ask of them without giving them the most basic voice in policy determination?