Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Under the constitutional framework of the Good Friday Agreement, citizens of Northern Ireland have the right to be British citizens, Irish citizens, or both and Brexit will not change that. Since the referendum outcome, our priority has been to ensure the terms of the Agreement are both recognised and accommodated in the final settlement between the UK and the EU. We have engaged extensively with the EU and its institutions about this and there is now a recognition at European level of the importance of the Agreement and its understanding. As co-guarantor of that, we will work to see that those provisions are protected.

The legal provisions governing citizenship and citizenship through naturalisation are set out in the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. Any person living on the island of Ireland, one of whose parents or grandparents was an Irish citizen, is entitled to Irish citizenship by descent and may make an application for a passport directly to the Passport Office. Similarly, any person born on the island of Ireland prior to 1 January 2005 has an entitlement to Irish citizenship and, therefore, European citizenship and may also make an application for a passport directly to the Passport Office. Post 1 January 2005, the entitlement to Irish citizenship of persons born on the island of Ireland to non-national parents is governed by sections 6A and 6B of the 1956 Act, as amended. The Act states: "A person born in the island of Ireland shall not be entitled to be an Irish citizen unless a parent of that person has, during the period of 4 years immediately preceding the person's birth, been resident in the island of Ireland for a period of not less than 3 years or periods the aggregate of which is not less than 3 years."

Citizenship through the naturalisation process, on the other hand, is based, among other factors, on the individual having the required lawful residence in the jurisdiction of the State. The Act requires a period of one year's continuous residency in the State immediately before the date of application for naturalisation and during the eight years immediately preceding that period to have a further total residence in the State amounting to four years. That relates to the technical issues.

We want to protect the common travel area arrangements. The point the Deputy raised will be followed through by me in these negotiations.

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