Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Middle Eastern sheiks who came laden with bejewelled daggers and gifts for a corrupt Taoiseach had Irish citizenship delivered to them by ministerial hands at the Shelbourne Hotel breakfast table with no protest from the present Taoiseach. That is the reality.

I do not know if the Minister or the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is aware of this but last year 3,500 people in South Africa got Irish passports from our Embassy in that country. I do not believe many know this. They got Irish citizenship for a fee because they could establish a family link with Ireland. Most of the people concerned have no interest in and no current family links to Ireland. They do not visit here and, by and large, do not intend to do so unless something goes wrong in South Africa. Another 20,000 people in South Africa have the right to claim Irish citizenship as have approximately 2,500 in Zimbabwe.

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