Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

We have done it successfully. The people to whom we have spoken on this issue and who work in this area are in no doubt that one of the great incentives is our unique facility in Europe, whereby one is automatically a citizen in that situation. What we are doing in this amendment is bringing Ireland into line with its European partners. No other European state has this facility. We are still more liberal in comparison with our European partners on this issue. I get a sense that much of the opposition to this is more political and about timing than about the substance of the debate. That is not a good enough reason to oppose this because the Constitution exists for Governments to go to the people on issues that fall under that Constitution. It is then a matter for the people to decide. Governments in the Oireachtas have a right to put issues to the people. There has been a tendency recently to suggest that more time is needed to debate these issues. That is not a tenable position to adopt and is not one that I would commend. There are other countries that have referenda and others do not because they do not have written constitutions.

The feature of Irish citizenship law which grants an entitlement of citizenship to all persons born in the island of Ireland is unique in the EU. It is very unusual worldwide. Most other countries have laws whereby citizenship is acquired by descent from an existing citizen, and place of birth is wholly or largely irrelevant. It is clear that it does make Ireland an attractive destination for persons wishing to establish residence, not just here but in the EU. This has given rise to these figures since 1997, which are quite extraordinary. We should not wrongly label people who put forward a modest measure to deal with the situation.

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