I have always stressed during my 40 years as a public representative that the "Forgotten Irish" should be remembered at home for the support they so faithfully gave us at home over those years. I am pleased at the fact that the Forgotten Irish have now been acknowledged formally by successive governments.
What does it mean to feel proud of Being Irish in the world? Clearly, Presidents Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese have played a seminal role in the highlighting and the development of the relationship between Ireland her diaspora over the past 21 years, and I would like to warmly acknowledge their achievements in this area.
To take one example, the "light in the window" symbolism promoted by President Robinson sent out a powerful message to all Irish abroad that they will always be welcome to come back to us and to enrich our society in Ireland by transferring the skills and talents which they gained while abroad.
I believe we need to build a whole new relationship with our diaspora - a relationship which will, in effect, replace the earlier concept of emigrants' remittances with a new model of support which contributes directly to the welfare of the Irish abroad, but also to the social, economic and cultural development of Ireland itself, that is built on solidarity and a shared sense of Irishness.
Now that our Department of Foreign Affairs has now also been assigned responsibility for Ireland's trade with nations, I see an opportunity for a more systemic approach to the creation and extension of such business networks throughout the globe and right across many countries.
For example, the London Business Network might in time become a UK Business network? As President, I would hope to support government and the state development agencies in promoting networks offering two key, but equally important, functions - the support of the Irish as they make their living abroad, along with the identification of new business opportunities in Ireland and promotion of trade for companies based in Ireland.
I see real potential in identifying and strengthening these two functions through Irish networks throughout the globe, including the emerging markets of China, India, and Brazil. I also see an increasing role for our ambassadors abroad, who now have these added trade responsibilities, in actively promoting the established concept of county associations for all counties in Ireland as a further support structure to help compatriots in their hour of need.
The whole issue of emigration and diaspora rights currently merits reviewing in the context of the current new wave of emigration from Ireland. A new generation are sadly leaving and I have seen many of my own nieces and nephews begin new lives and careers in the UK, Australia or Canada.
I believe that if Irish people are again finding themselves traveling abroad, it is best that they try to do so with as full a heart as possible and high expectations of the world.
Despite the wrench that emigration can represent for families across Ireland, those who leave must not be allowed to go in defeat, with feelings of regret or loneliness but should instead be equipped with hope, connections and practical supports.
Although for many it is still a very difficult choice, this new generation of emigrants are, for the most part, traveling in somewhat better circumstances than the Irish of the past, with a higher level of education, confidence in themselves and in their own abilities, and often with strong family support structures in Ireland which may be bruised but by no means defeated.
While abroad, they are networking and socializing and enjoying their Irishness proudly. We, all of us, live in one world now, infinitely various, full of undiscovered joys and surprises. I would earnestly hope that today's emigrants will savor their lives and remember they have a nation still, a home to return to.
And when they do come back, as very many thankfully will, I would hope that they will bring us what they have learned in the wide world, just as thousands of immigrants are already enriching us in Ireland with the learning they bring to our homes and to our streets.
I hope that, while away, they will send us their visions and thoughts constantly; after all, that is what the technology is there for. I hope and expect that they will remain a part of the national conversation, a part of our evolution towards a better life for all in Ireland, and a more fulsome degree of engagement with those less fortunate than us abroad.
One issue which I have raised relates to proposals around electoral enfranchisement for the Irish abroad. In this regard the Constitutional Convention taking place next year could prove significant. I am aware that a number of ideas have previously been made in relation to this important question.
The "Rainbow" government, in particular, in the 1990s devoted considerable time and effort to finding a formula that would provide those who had left Ireland with a capacity to retain a voice in our democratic system. Those efforts were unsuccessful, but I believe that it is time to look at this issue again.
Technological changes that have taken place since then mean that problems that were encountered at that time about the compilation and maintenance of an electoral register of Irish citizens abroad no longer arise.
This issue should properly be a matter for consideration by the Constitutional Convention, but one formula that I believe is worthy of consideration is that those who were on the electoral register, or would be entitled to be on it, should be able to retain the right to vote in some or all of our elections for a specified period, perhaps five to then years.
I cannot, and will not, attempt to be prescriptive in terms of specific proposals or pre-empt the discussion and outcomes of our important constitutional review. However, I very much look forward to hearing its recommendations on this issue and being supportive of anything that deepens and makes more meaningful to involvement of the Irish abroad in our democratic system.
This is an extract of a speech delivered by presidential candidate Michael D Higgins at a meeting in London's Irish Centre.
