John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

Much has been said on this issue inside and outside the House and much of what has been said is misleading and unhelpful in the context of providing information to the public for consideration. Much of what has been printed on the matter has also been misleading. In some cases reports of what has been said have used the word "reckless". However, if anything, reporting of the debate has been reckless. An evening report today makes a comment about a phoney crisis.

I see nothing wrong with the two days of debate we have had here. By and large the debate has been healthy and I hope the message of what this referendum is about gets to the public. What the referendum is about is quite simple and in saying that I reflect the views of the people I represent, normal people, and of our partners in Europe. That view is that we have a loophole in terms of our citizenship requirements and that we are taking steps to rectify it. Some Opposition Members appear to want to go beyond that and introduce debate on racism and our attitude towards immigrants. They should speak to some of the people they say it affects. I have spoken to these people and they recognise and understand a loophole does exist. They would expect any country with a loophole of that kind to close it in due course. This is the attitude of the very people about whom we are speaking, non-nationals, asylum seekers, and citizenship tourists, as referred to by the Minister. They recognise this as a fact and not as some manufactured issue. We should take this into consideration.

People clearly understand the issue being put to them. Over the past few days the Opposition has entered into a phoney debate, similar to their participation in the debate on electronic voting, which shows a clear disconnection between it and the electorate. It does not understand the electorate's understanding of this issue or the direction the Government is taking on the issue.

There is nothing wrong with having the referendum on the same day as the local and European Parliament elections. This makes sense.

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