Voting rights for Irish overseas to be examined

The issue of voting rights for Irish people living overseas will be addressed as part of the constitutional convention agreed in the Program for Government. Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore confirmed during his visit to New York last week that the matter will be looked at in detail during the review of the constitution over the next few years.

He said it would be “quite a departure” if Ireland moves away from the current link between the right to vote and residence. “One of the considerations that needs to be factored into the Irish situation is that the size of the Irish diaspora is very large,” he said. He said the spectrum of Irish passport holders ranged from those who had recently left and were possibly still on the electoral register at home, to those who left many years ago. There were also significant numbers who acquired Irish citizenship through their parentage.

“The idea is that the constitutional convention will be able to engage with it and discuss it,” he said “And I expect that immigrants and organizations will participate in that.” He said it was time for Ireland to take a fresh look at what kind of constitution is appropriate for the 21^st Century. “The constitution we have, has served us very well since 1937, but it was a product of its time, and it’s been amended many times. There are a lot of proposals outstanding for amending it. And our thinking is that we need to take a fresh look at our constitutional arrangements, and look at the kind of constitution that is appropriate now for the Ireland of the 21^st Century.

“Bearing in mind that the 1937 constitution has been with us for three quarters of a century now and we need a new constitution with that kind of enduring lifetime, and part of the remit of that constitutional convention will be to look at the issue of voting rights.” He said the constitutional convention would not be simply a political forum.

“The idea is to have something that is wider than just involves political parties. Our idea was that this would be a citizens’ exercise or forum, where people individually and people who are organized, and that includes political parties, will make their contribution to that. But it won’t be an exercise confined to political parties.” 

He said the government intends to proceed “reasonably quickly” with establishing the convention, with the aim of having a new constitution before the 100 year anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising.

Gilmore pledges to pursue E3 visa for Ireland

Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore raised the prospect of a bilateral visa arrangement between Ireland and the US during a meeting with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in Washington on Friday. Mr Gilmore, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in the new Irish government, has pledged to pursue the option of an E3 visa for Ireland.

Australia is currently the only country with the specialty work visa in place, but Irish-American immigration reform lobbyists are seeking to have it extended to Ireland. They made their case to Minister Gilmore during a meeting in New York last week. The Labour Party leader acknowledged that comprehensive immigration reform in the US is “on the back-burner” for now, but said he intended to deal with other issues affecting

“First of all the people who have been here for quite some time, many of whom would qualify for a visa but are not able to access that because they have to go back home, and are not sure if they get back in. That has to be addressed,” he he told me at  meeting in the Irish consulate on Wednesday last. “Secondly, there is the issue of pursuing the idea of the E3 visa. That’s something that we intend to do and we will work with the Irish American organizations in progressing that.”

Mr Gilmore’s visit to New York included meetings with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor Andrew Cuomo and City Council speaker Christine Quinn.  Mr Gilmore reviewed the St Patrick’s Day parade, and attended an event organized by Enterprise Ireland in which Irish high-tech companies met with leading IT companies in the US. He also addressed a meeting of the Ireland-US Council, and held talks with leading Irish-American business networks and figures.

He was keen to reassure US investors that Ireland’s corporate tax rate would remain unchanged at 12.5%. “I want to be absolutely clear on this,” he said, “The Irish government is determined to retain our 12.5% corporate tax rate. Certainty about our corporate tax rate is very important to business, companies that are considering investing in Ireland and the new government is determined that we will retain that.

He said he had not been surprised that the issue had been raised by France and Germany at recent EU talks, but said President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel were simply “responding to their own domestic political environment”. He said he was confident Ireland could withstand the strong Franco-German pressure on the issue, despite its desire to achieve a better deal on the EU/IMF bailout.

“I think it’s important we don’t see the renegotiation as an exercise in conflict between ourselves and other member states. The renegotiation of the package is about ensuring that it works, that the Irish economy is enabled to recover. That’s obviously good for Ireland, but it’s also good for the rest of the European Union and Eurozone in particular.” Mr Gilmore said it was “an exercise in working together” in the Eurozone’s collective interest and not one that necessitated confrontation.

On the issue of a consolidated tax base being proposed by the European Commission, Mr Gilmore said the proposals were up for discussion but it was “very early days”. The idea of a consolidated tax base is being resisted by Ireland, amid fears that it would lead to a change to our corporation tax through the back door.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland has backed the Irish government’s opposition to the consolidated tax base proposed by Brussels. There are almost 100,000 people employed in Ireland today directly by over 600 US firms, and they are worth around €3bn to the Exchequer.

U2 stars defend Spider-man director as she is replaced by Circus master

Bono and the Edge have leapt to the defense of Julie Taymor, the talented Broadway director who has stepped aside from her role in Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark.

“Julie is a truly gifted and imaginative director,” the U2 pair said in a statement, after Taymor  was replaced on the show, which was due to open next week, but has now been delayed for a remarkable sixth time.

Taymor was the creative genius behind the smash-hit The Lion King but reports say she clashed with producers who were looking for wholesale changes to the Spiderman musical after it was thrashed by critics.

Bono and the Edge are to remain involved in the $65m production, which critics are branding Broadway’s biggest ever flop. The duo have written several new songs which they hope to insert into the production, which is now being driven by a totally new creative team.

“This is an epic ride,” they said, “and the standing ovations we have seen from the preview audiences have confirmed our absolute faith in the project. We are listening and learning and, as a result, we have a couple of new songs we are very very excited about putting into the mix.

“All of us on the creative team are committed to taking Spiderman to the next level. We are confident it will reach its full potential and when it does, it will open.”

Spiderman has now been in previews longer than any other show in history, and will continue to undergo changes until the summer.

Producers have appointed Phillip McKinley as the new director, and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa to help rewrite the book.

McKinley’s only previous Broadway experience was a 2003 musical called The Boy from Oz which starred Hugh Jackman.

Some have questioned his credentials, but perhaps aptly, he is a former circus director with Barnum and Bailey, and Ringling Bros.

Aguirre-Sacasa is an acclaimed playwright, and a well known writer of Spiderman comic books.

The expanded creative team also includes musical consultant Paul Bogaev  and sound designer Peter Hylenski. 

Producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J Harris paid tribute to Taymor, saying her vision had been at the heart of the production and would continue to do so.

“We cannot exaggerate how technically difficult it is to make such changes to a show of this complexity,” they said.

The new summer opening date means Spiderman is no longer eligible for consideration for the industry’s Tony Awards this year. Spiderman remains among Broadway’s highest grossing productions, despite the nightmarish production problems and scathing reviews.

Dunnes flee $8m mansion amid row with locals over new home

The $8m dollar mansion on Field Point Road rented by the Dunnes

INDEBTED developer Sean Dunne and his wife Gayle have left the $8m (€5.8m) US mansion they were living in amid increasing hostility from neighbours over plans to rebuild a house nearby.

An estate agent and local residents have confirmed the Dunnes moved out of the property in the exclusive Belle Haven enclave in Greenwich, Connecticut The upmarket area is home to singer Diana Ross and a number of hedge-fund billionaires.

The secretive couple had been renting a plush mansion on Field Point Road for $17,500 (€12,600) a month while work was being carried out on a $2m (€1.5m) house, which was expected to become their family home, on nearby Bush Avenue.

However, it has now emerged they moved out in recent weeks as a spat with neighbours over plans for the Bush Avenue property became increasingly fractious.

It is unclear where they have relocated to, but locals in Greenwich say they had not been seen in the area for some time.

The revelation came after lawyers representing local residents got a renewed legal order last week prohibiting further work on the Victorian-era home.

Locals have claimed the Dunnes breached planning regulations after the property was substantially demolished last year. Sean Dunne (56), who regularly commutes between the US and Ireland on business, has denied any link to the Bush Avenue property.

However, it was registered as 36-year-old Gayle Dunne's home address in filings for two real estate companies she now owns. A lawyer representing Mrs Dunne is acting as the property's trustee.

A local real estate agent confirmed that the Dunnes had moved and that the mansion they had been renting was now on the market with an asking price of $8m.

Publicity

Neighbours said the Dunnes were rumoured to be looking at properties in Stanwich, another town in Connecticut.

The move by the Dunnes to Greenwich last year raised eyebrows as Mr Dunne is dealing with NAMA and also has substantial debts with non-NAMA banks. They quickly became embroiled in controversy, attracting negative publicity in the local press when locals complained about alleged planning infractions.

One neighbour, who didn't want to be named, said that locals were "united" in their opposition to the building work. Work on the property was initially halted last October. Efforts to have it "weather-proofed" in recent weeks were also objected to by locals and a further "stop work" order was granted by planning authorities. Mrs Dunne's lawyer, Thomas Heagney, told a public meeting last week that negotiations to resolve the dispute had begun.

Mrs Dunne, a former socialite and gossip columnist, revealed in legal papers earlier this year that she had moved to the US to become a property developer and had been scouting out a potential land deal in Chicago.

Details of her change in career emerged after she sued a New York immigration lawyer who she alleged swindled her out of $500,000 (€365,000). The court papers did not reveal how Mrs Dunne was funding her foray into the US real estate market.

A statement issued on her behalf said her home and finances were not a matter of public interest. It added Mrs Dunne had no debts with any institutions covered by the bank guarantee nor was she the subject of any NAMA loans.

- Shane Phelan and Vincent Murphy

[This article originally appeared in the Irish Independent of Friday March 4th 2011]