§ Mr. Nelsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Down, North (Mr. Kilfedder) on 22 March, Official Report, column 234, why estimates of the number of Irish citizens entitled to vote in British elections are not available; and if he will take steps to keep such statistics.
§ Mr. MayhewThe labour force survey taken in 1981 suggests that close to 450,000 citizens of the Irish Republic aged 18 and over were resident in the United Kingdom. However, it is not known how many of them were on the electoral register: there is no requirement for applicants for electoral registration to state their citizenship.