http://www.lookaroundireland.com noted with interest the recent General Election in
Poland. And why would we be doing that you might well ask? Should we not be noting items of interest in this fair
land of Ireland? Is this not our mission statement? What has Polish politics got to do with
Ireland?
Well quite a bit, actually. Not the minute details of the cut and thrust of a foreign election, but the manner in which it is carried out and its relevance to Ireland.
In this case the connection to Ireland is very strong. Since EU movement and working restrictions were lifted in 2003 thousands of Poles have come to work in Ireland. Most are working in the construction industry or the hospitality sector and they account for the largest proportion of foreign workers in Ireland either from EU or non-EU countries.
As most employers will testify, the Polish workers are good employees. They have a good work ethic and are considered diligent and fair in their dealings. They are good tenants as any landlord will vouch and have respect for other peoples property. They certainly did not come to this country to be a burden on the state and they are willing to do the jobs that the newly enriched Irish now consider beneath them.
How times have changed. A decade ago only, the Irish were the ones that were immigrating in their droves to all parts of America to seek work and a future that this country could not offer them. There is a great similarity between what happened in America when the Irish arrived there in the eighties and to what is happening here with the Polish (and other east European countries). It seemed every bartender and building worker in New York was Irish. They double-jobbed to earn a crust, and set up new lives for themselves in America, just as their forefathers had done a generation before. Many set up their own businesses and employed yet more Irish people coming over from Ireland.
When Ireland started to boom in the nineties many returned home and settled back in Ireland. However, a lot more stayed and have no intention of ever coming home. A lot are undocumented, but the majority are permanent residents of the United States, their status legalized by various visa programmes such as the Donnelley or Morrison visa amnesties.
Whilst they may be legal American residents, most have retained Irish citizenship and hold Irish passports. Just like the Polish community here in Ireland.
Now you will see whyhttp://www.lookaroundireland.com had an interest in the General Election in Poland.
Every Polish person over 18, legally living in Ireland, had a right to vote in that election – here in Ireland. The Polish embassy set up voting centres in the main cities around the country facilitating those who worked outside the capital. Reports indicate that interest was very strong and the polling booths were busy. The outgoing Prime Minister and his Government were narrowly defeated. Who knows what effect those votes from Ireland may have had?
So we in http://www.lookaroundireland.com decided to look at the facilities given to Irish people living abroad to vote in elections in Ireland. Guess what? There are none. With the exception, of course, of some of our beloved public service workers. Those in the Army on peacekeeping missions abroad can vote and also members of the diplomatic corps, but your ordinary Irish citizen living and working abroad cannot, which is ironic when you think about it, because they most likely went abroad in the first place to find work during a recession partly caused by the bloated, grossly overstaffed and overpaid Irish public service that was, and is, a millstone around the neck of the Irish economy.
Ireland is out of kilter with all other European countries on this issue by not providing the right to vote if you live abroad. Most countries in the EU extend the facility to their foreign based citizens, no matter what part of the world they reside in. The Treaty of Rome, which is the very foundation of the EU, is being breached by Ireland, if not in the letter, then certainly in the spirit of the laws enshrined in it to make provision for EU citizens to vote whilst based in another EU country.
Just for a moment imagine what the politicians would do in the morning if the hundreds of thousands of Irish people who live in the UK, US, Australia and any of the EU countries were allowed to vote in elections here.
It would be like having another 10 constituencies in a general election. It would send tremors down the spines of politicians used to spinning their bullshit to the voters here. If they spin a certain line long enough to the electorate in Ireland chances are they will be believed or at least given the benefit of the doubt. Being so close to the action here we cannot see the wood for the trees but those who are abroad looking in at Ireland would have a much more cynical and realistic view of the state of the nation at any given time. If that view was expressed in a considered and educated vote there would be huge repercussions for the Irish political landscape.
Irish emigrants could rally together to force a particular issue to be addressed. An example comes to mind at the moment of the Shannon/Heathrow row with Aer Lingus over the move to Belfast. If that were going on during an election the combined pressure that a lobby group based in America or Britain could apply to politicians here would change the face of politics as we know it.
Little wonder then that our spineless leaders would want to leave the status quo.
There would be too much danger for them to extend the democratic process. They would not be able to control matters as they can now.
Maybe they want Tourism Ireland to benefit by making the Irish Diaspora take an Ireland vacation every time there is a general election. Ireland travel information tells us that many people do travel home to vote in general elections. They value their right to vote very highly.
http://www.lookaroundireland.com considers it a great pity that the Irish Government obviously doesn’t.
Sam Maguire
