FG bid to call a referendum so TDs can vote at a distance

A FINE Gael TD has introduced a new Bill that would let Dáil members vote remotely during a national emergency, if they are on maternity leave or too sick. However, a referendum would be needed first, because the Constitution states that Oireachtas members must be in the chamber to vote, which has made it very difficult for TDs and senators on maternity leave or those socially distancing. The Bill appears to have strong backing from the party as its details were released by the Fine Gael press office. It was introduced yesterday by Dún Laoghaire TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, who told the Irish Daily Mail that it would not allow remote voting for those ‘taking a little holiday or spending a bit more time in their constituency’. She said: ‘I wouldn’t like to think about some of the circumstances in which it might be used: a nuclear war for example, or another pandemic. But it would also help members who are immuno-compromised, such as people undergoing cancer treatment or someone with cystic fibrosis.’ It would also allow TDs on maternity leave to vote, she said. The proposed referendum would have flexible wording, so that the Dáil could have a free hand to change the rules if it needed to. The new proposal states: ‘Each House may make its own rules and standing orders providing for special and limited circumstances by which members not present in that House may vote when any matter, or any class of matter as so provided for, is to be determined by a vote of that House.’