Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)

That is not an order of this House. To impose it on us now is not in order. However, I wish to make a substantial point and follow on from what my colleague, Deputy Kehoe, has said. The Minister and the Government are rushing this matter through with an unholy haste and say it has to be put to the people on 11 June. There are a number of points that need to be clarified and the process must be slowed down to do that.

Deputy Kehoe referred to the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2001. Under section 3 of that Act, the Minister of the day made a regulation about how people born on this island could or could not be citizens of this island. That gave the Minister of the day the right to interfere and say whether people born here were to be citizens. If the 2001 Act is constitutional, the Minister could make regulations about who can be citizens. It refers to diplomats. If that Act is constitutional the Minister can regulate what happens to people born here. If it is not constitutional then he needs a constitutional amendment to put the matter right.

I put it to the Minister that he was Attorney General at the time. He was the person who advised the Government on this. If he advised the Government at that time then he knew it to be constitutional. If he has made a mistake he needs a referendum; if not, it can be regulated by legislation. What will be the test of the 2001 Act? The Minister should ask the President to refer it to the Supreme Court and let it judge definitively whether that section is constitutional. If it is constitutional the Minister can regulate under legislation the citizenship or otherwise of children born here. If it is not constitutional he has the whole basis of the Supreme Court decision to decide what type of constitutional referendum is needed. It is a reasonable way in which to proceed. It is clear to the Minister how he acted.

The Minister has said many times that he thought there was a problem with this matter going back over many years. If he thought so, how did he advise the Government of the day in 2001 that this was constitutional?

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