Funferal

Save me from cynicism. Please.

So here’s the situation: while only citizens are allowed to vote in referendums in Ireland, all those resident in an area are allowed to vote in elections for local government. The problem was that following the latest iteration of the electoral legislation, you have to present one form of identification from a set list of acceptable forms (including passport and so on) in order to vote.
This list of acceptable forms excluded the one form of I.D. available to most asylum-seekers and other immigrants, the ‘Garda National Immigration Bureau’ card issued, surprise, by the National Immigration Bureau of the Gardaí, the Irish police force. So the legislation was amended to add this card to the list of forms you can present when voting.
So where’s the problem? In order to vote in Ireland you need to be on the register of electors in advance of the election (the final deadline for the June elections is in two weeks’ time). And in order to get on the register you need to sign-up at a Garda station. And they are refusing to accept the GNIB card as a form of identification in order to register. Yes, an identification card issued by a unit of the Gardaí is not being recognised by other sections of the Gardaí in allowing people to secure a basic right, the right to vote.
And if anyone needed an extra twist of irony, Irish citizens will be voting this June, on the same day as the elections for local authorities and the European Parliament, in a referendum that seeks to deprive the Irish-born children of immigrants of their rights to Irish citizenship.