Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. I make no secret of the fact that I was one of the leading advocates behind the scenes in encouraging the Government to hold this referendum in June rather than October. It would have been wrong to twin this referendum proposal with the presidential election in October. It is a pressing and important matter of public concern which should be speedily addressed.

Citizenship is the most fundamental right a State confers on an individual. When it is clear that the rules and laws of citizenship as passed by the Oireachtas are open to abuse, that loophole must be quickly closed off. This debate and other debates outside the House are opening up a wider debate between the forces of political correctness and parties on this side of the House which respond and react in a proactive manner to reality on the ground. Everybody knows our citizenship laws are being abused. There is clear evidence, statistical and anecdotal, that this is occurring. It is imperative, if a government is to retain its reputation as being proactive on behalf of the people and defending their rights and the rights of others, that it react proactively in eradicating any such abuse. This is all the more pressing in Ireland's case, a country which for many years has had a convivial relationship with Britain on matters relating to migration. We reside in a common travel area with our nearest neighbour, the United Kingdom, as a result of which there is free movement — free movement that preceded the free movement now conferred by membership of the European Union. There was free movement between Ireland and Britain long before we contemplated joining the European Union.

When the British Secretary of State, David Blunkett, reacted to the issue of social welfare shopping by potential migrants from the new accession States, Ireland followed in his wake. If we leave open a loophole in our law while Britain corrects its loophole in terms of social welfare or citizenship, Ireland becomes a positive place for those seeking to abuse the entitlements that accompany citizenship. For that reason, it is imperative we react quickly to this problem.

So often we hear the populist cat-cry from the Opposition benches that the Government is not moving fast enough on a range of measures. In this instance, it has decided to move quickly and has consulted as best it can in that regard. The Government is acting with urgency in a matter that is urgent. If our system is open to abuse, so too will be the systems of many member states of the European Union. It is important that we consider the issue of citizenship in the wider context of what is the societal attitude to the abuse of our social welfare code. There is widespread abuse of the system by nationals — I say that advisedly — and non-nationals. The more we tolerate such abuse, the less credibility we have in the eyes of the ordinary citizen. The forces of political correctness are trying to impose politically correct values that have no meaning on the ground. It is clear from opinion polls conducted on this matter that some 65% of the public support this measure. They want the Government to act fast.

I was rather concerned by the reaction and concerns expressed by the SDLP and believe it was foolish of them to go down that road. The two Governments have given enormous reassurances on this matter. It has nothing to do with the British-Irish Agreement. At the end of the day the two sovereign Governments are the ultimate guarantors of the Anglo-Irish process. They are the main signatories to the British-Irish Agreement. If parties such as Sinn Féin, the DUP, the SDLP and others contesting elections north of the Border spent more time trying to get the Assembly back up and running rather than commenting on side-show referendums in the Republic they would be far better off in terms of their political futures.

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