A NEW CAMPAIGN has been launched to encourage 40,000 Irish people living overseas to return home to vote in the upcoming abortion referendum.
Following the Irish Government’s announcement to hold a referendum this May, campaigners are urging emigrants to return home to cast their ballot and have their say.
To be eligible to travel home and vote, you need to have been living outside of Ireland for less than 18 months.
The campaigners are making reference to the marriage equality referendum in May 2015, when thousands of people returned home to vote.
The London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign has kicked off its #HomeToVote social media drive.
We’re teaming up with our #repealthe8th colleagues from around the world for #HomeToVote. We want as many eligible voters as possible to make the journey back to Ireland for the referendum. More details coming very soon. Stay tuned. #trustwomen #ldnirish4choice pic.twitter.com/w7WxVYWOte
— London-Irish ARC (@LdnIrishARC) January 30, 2018
Mary Jane Fox, speaking on behalf of the campaign, has already pledged to make the journey home having just recently moved to the UK.
She said: “Even though I’m fresh off the boat in London, I’ll be making the journey and encouraging everyone I know to go back too.
“It’s ironic that so many Irish women are forced to make the same trip in reverse to have an abortion. I want to travel home to make sure this comes to an end.”
According to the most recent figures from the Central Statistics Office, it is estimated that over 30,800 Irish people emigrated between April 2016 and 2017. In the second half of 2017, it was estimated that a further 20,000 moved overseas too.
