Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis na haíonna go léir. I thank all the speakers for their attendance, presentations and answers to the questions. Inevitably, there will be a bit of a crossover but I will try my best not to repeat too much. Some supporters of Brexit and Brexiteers have tried to argue that the Good Friday Agreement is in no way in conflict with the attempts to leave the European Union. The issues that Brexit throws up for the Good Friday Agreement and for citizens' rights in the North has been well identified here. Obviously, a large part of it was that the Good Friday Agreement presupposed Britain and Ireland being members of the European Union with all the rights related to that.

On the question of citizenship, it is important to say it is not just an abstract thing and it can have real and meaningful consequences for people. I will give examples to illustrate the implications for people. I came across an Irish citizen living in the North whose partner is an American national. The Irish citizen was seeking a visa for this American national. The British Government insisted that this Irish national obtain a British passport in order for his partner to be able to obtain a visa. It was not possible to do that through any Irish legal route. That happened relatively recently and I am not sure what the current position is. There was an obligation on this Irish national to go to the British Government in order that his partner could get a visa to travel to the North. That is one example I came across.

The other example relates to a non-EU citizen who is resident in the North and whose children are Irish citizens. If resident in the Twenty-six Counties, this person would be entitled to naturalisation on the basis of their children. However, being resident in the North, this person had to go through the British system in order to achieve naturalisation, even though their children were Irish citizens living in the North. I am putting these examples on the record to illustrate concrete examples of how the uncertainty around citizenship can have an impact on people's lives where it relates to naturalisation and visas. There are probably countless other examples. Obviously, that is being discussed in the de Souza case.

Is it fair to say that the citizenships are not properly understood both here and in Britain? Would be fairer to say they are not properly defined? At what stage does somebody who identifies as Irish, and wishes to be an Irish citizen, become an Irish citizen?

At what stage is that legally recognised to be the case? Mr. Gormally indicated that generally it is when one seeks a passport that one vindicates the rights associated with Irish citizenship. Are there any other means of doing so? If one takes a court case in the South, is that seen as a vindication of Irish citizenship? Are there any other routes? Is the stage at which a resident of the North is recognised as an Irish citizen entirely unclear? I ask all of our guests to respond to the questions I have asked.