Seán Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)

When Fine Gael was in Government it had the opportunity to change matters but it did nothing. The problem is being addressed now. The gift of citizenship should not be treated as a chattel and then used for the benefit of individuals in another country. The privilege of citizenship in these circumstances is not appreciated. Irish people expect our citizens to appreciate the unique national sense of being an Irish citizen. At present there is an anomaly in the Constitution which gives citizenship to people who have little or no allegiance, not even through their parents, to the nation of Ireland.

The Constitution allows for a person who is born on the island of Ireland, irrespective of any connection or allegiance to Ireland, to be a citizen of Ireland. This was brought about by the wording inserted into Article 2 of the Constitution to give effect to the terms of the Belfast Agreement. It was never intended in the drafting of the terms of the Agreement that this anomaly would be introduced. The Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill changes neither the terms of the Belfast Agreement nor the constitutional changes adopted to give effect to the terms of the Belfast Agreement. The Minister went over this in detail in his speech but I also had a little piece prepared on it. As he stated, in Article 1(vi) of that Agreement the participants recognised "the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland." The Minister went into greater detail, stating that the people of Northern Ireland included the people who had allegiance to the country — Northern Ireland — where they actually live and were people who were born in Northern Ireland before the Belfast Agreement. The people of Northern Ireland, who identified themselves and were accepted as British or Irish, may choose to confirm that their right to hold British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both Governments and it would not be affected by any future change in the status of Northern Ireland. That, effectively, is why Article 2 was put into the Constitution. It was to give effect to that. In the Agreement itself, there was no question of recognising the birthright of all people who were born in Northern Ireland; it was "the people of Northern Ireland." This amendment to the Constitution in no way affects the Belfast Agreement in that regard.

As a result of this anomaly people who do not have allegiance to the State through their parents' citizenship or continued legal residence are using this loophole in our laws to gain Irish citizenship by stealth. The intent behind this act is, in some cases, not to contribute to the nation of Ireland but to access residence in other EU countries. One might ask what is so wrong with that. There are many answers. If one goes around the houses knocking on the doors, one will not find the type of racial hatred that has been expressed from the benches opposite but genuine concern that there is a loophole.

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