Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

This encapsulates to my mind the essence of the intertwined concepts of citizenship and nationality. To be a citizen of the State is to be as Article 2 states "part of the Irish nation"; to be part of the community which forms that nation; to share the benefits and the vicissitudes that membership of that society brings with it; and to accord respect to the entity that has bestowed citizenship on the individual.

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