POLLING stations for presidential elections should not be set up in the north, a former unionist leader has said.
A referendum is to be held on whether Irish citizens living outside the Republic - including in the north - can vote in presidential elections.
The long-awaited referendum was finally announced by Taoiseach Enda Kenny on Sunday as he spoke at an event at the Famine Memorial in Philadelphia ahead of his trip to Washington to mark St Patrick's Day.
Mr Kenny said the decision, taken at a cabinet meeting last week, showed Ireland valued all its citizens.
Around 3.5 million Irish citizens, including those in the north, live outside the state.
A Constitutional Convention voted in favour of extending voting rights to all Irish citizens in September 2013.
The referendum announcement was welcomed by the SDLP and Sinn Féin.
Unionists are unhappy, however, among them Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP Tom Elliott, who led the Ulster Unionist Party for two years.
"That would be imposing on the people of Northern Ireland. If they need to vote, they need to find another way," he said.
Mr Elliott also said the presidential campaign should not be entitled to any special treatment from mainstream television channels in Northern Ireland.
A move to extend voting rights could work in Sinn Féin's favour. Former deputy First Minister, Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness, came third in the 2011 presidential elections, claiming 13.7 per cent of first preference votes. However Sinn Féin's strong base in the north could hold the balance of power in future elections.
The referendum is unlikely to be held in time to affect next year's presidential election. Any changes would therefore come into operation for the 2025 vote.
Mr Kenny said a detailed government options paper would be published later this month.
"Today's announcement is a profound recognition of the importance that Ireland attaches to all of our citizens, wherever they may be," he said.
"It is an opportunity for us to make our country stronger by allowing all of our citizens resident outside the State, including our emigrants, to vote in future presidential elections.
"I am especially pleased to be making this announcement as we prepare for our worldwide celebration of St Patrick's Day and of all that is Irish."
