The Minister for Foreign Affairs has ruled out providing votes for Irish emigrants as part of reforming the Seanad.
Mr Cowen said that from the point of view of the Irish abroad, his view would be that the issue of votes for emigrants was not a pressing matter.
He added: "If the Irish abroad are to be given a voice in the Seanad, it would be better to do so through the nomination of a person or persons with an awareness of emigrant issues, as proposed by the Committee on the Constitution, rather than by the election of a formal representative of the Diaspora."
Mr Cowen's views are contained in a submission he has made to a Seanad sub-committee on reform, chaired by the Leader of the House, Ms Mary O'Rourke.
A series of public hearings on the 161 submissions received will be held in September.
The issue of votes for emigrants has been on the political agenda since the 1980s. However, despite promises made from the opposition benches, no government has implemented the proposal.
In 1996 the rainbow government published a consultation document proposing that Irish citizens living abroad for up to 20 years be entitled to elect three members to the Seanad.
It was suggested at the time that a potential 900,000 electors would come within the category of emigrants to be given votes.
However, that Government did not proceed with a referendum.
