New Fingal mayor Tony Murphy calls for voting rights for long-term non-Irish residents in general elections
The new Mayor of Fingal has said non-Irish citizens who have lived here for several years should be allowed to vote in general elections.
Independent councillor Tony Murphy, who has stood unsuccessfully in three general elections, said people who are contributing to Irish society should have the ability to influence the political decisions that affect them.
Under Ireland’s electoral rules, Irish and British citizens can vote in general elections, while local elections are open to all residents regardless of nationality, provided they are registered to vote.
He described Balbriggan as one of the more diverse areas in the county.
Mr Murphy, who represents Balbriggan, said the current system means some residents are unable to vote in the general elections despite living and working in Ireland for many years.
“I support all communities, but in the general election, if you’re not Irish, you cannot vote,” he said.
“So an area that wants to have a representative to represent them in the highest office is disenfranchised by the way in which they cannot vote, even though they may live here for five to 10 years or work and want to retain their own nationality.
“I think this should be looked at. If somebody is contributing to our society and they’re actually working and they’re here for a number of years, you could say five or seven years, then I think they should be allowed to have the ability to influence the political space in order to support what they believe in.”
He claimed the lack of voting rights for some residents also affected his own general election campaigns.
“I did not get elected, because the people whom I support couldn’t vote for me.”
First elected to Fingal County Council in 2014, the new mayor stood in the 2016 general election as part of the Independent Alliance, then contested as an independent in 2020 and 2024.
“It’s a very challenging space to get into the general election and as an independent, you’d never have the same resources, so you’re relying on your own resources to try and build a team, and to fund it, and to have the same amount of social media presence, the same amount of literature going out there,” he said.
The Balbriggan councillor, who worked as a goldsmith in the town for more than 35 years, said housing would be one of his main priorities during his term as mayor.
“You have families who rear their children, get them educated to go to college, do everything right, and when they come out at the other end, the only thing they have is a flight to Australia,” he said.
“We have to understand the whole ramification of the housing crisis across the economic spectrum is incredibly damaging to Irish society.
“We’re losing our children to other countries, we’re losing our talent to other countries, and we’re also losing the opportunity for businesses to come into Ireland as a consequence of not having reasonable housing stock to support the people who might come in to work here as well.”
He also criticised the current approach to land zoning, describing it as “problematic”.
“I think the way in which we zone land can be problematic because the market dictates the price.
“When we zone land, the agricultural price could be €35,000 an acre. Once we zone it, it can go up to half-a-million an acre.
“That’s ridiculous, because what happens then as a consequence is the end user pays.
“If we were to develop a different model of residential zoning, then we might be able to control the market price of the house.
“Because the price of the land is the first driver of the price and once we change that, then we might be able to get more affordable houses.”
He said he supported a “use it or lose it” approach, where land zoned for housing would have a time limit attached.
“So if we were to zone the land for five years and the developer does not use it, then it goes back to agricultural land or back to green,” he added.
He also said better communication around housing supports is needed, arguing that many people are unaware of the assistance available to them.
“Sometimes people don’t fully understand what support is there or where things fit within that support,” he said.
Looking ahead to his year as mayor, Mr Murphy said taking on the role was a “privilege”.
“When I started out, I never would have even considered that I would have my name put forward as mayor. It wasn’t part of what I wanted to achieve, but it’s nice to actually have realised it.”
When asked if he plans to run in the next general election, he said: “Never say never.”