Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. It is true to say that Ireland has changed dramatically in the past ten years. Our great economic success has resulted in citizens no longer emigrating in the same numbers as they once did and our country having to deal with thousands of immigrants for the first time. Immigration has been of great benefit to Ireland, but migrants and their family members have a right to be treated fairly in legislation and in practice.

I welcome the contents of the Bill, which seeks to reform our outdated and inadequate immigration legislation, but some aspects of the current system are not adequately addressed. The Bill is a unique opportunity to rectify some glaring anomalies within the current system of family reunification. Currently, there is no right in legislation for non-EEA family members of Irish citizens to reside in Ireland, causing great difficulty for many families who wish to resettle in or return to Ireland. In many cases, a non-EEA spouse of an Irish national can be forced to wait for more than 12 months without the right to work while his or her application for residency is processed. This is simply not financially viable for many families.

The current lack of rights for Irish citizens means that if a refugee is granted Irish citizenship, he or she loses his or her legal right to family reunification, a clear and problematic disincentive for people to become Irish citizens and a broader issue for the integration debate. The other anomalous situation is the fact that certain categories of non-EEA family members of EU citizens living in Ireland have a stated right in legislation to have their family members live with them. This situation is not coherent with that of Irish citizens with no legislative rights. All migrants should have clear and accessible pathways to family reunification and Irish citizens need to have clear rights to family reunification in primary legislation.

Section 123 of the Bill must be removed. This section proposes that, in order for a non-EEA national in Ireland to get married to anyone, including an Irish citizen, he or she will require the permission of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. This proposal is an unnecessarily invasive act that would downgrade the institution of marriage and should be removed immediately.

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