Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Good Friday Agreement is not only eloquent but it is also crystal clear on the right of any citizen to be recognised as Irish, as British or as both. As the Taoiseach has acknowledged, Emma is an Irish citizen. She carries an Irish passport, and despite the clarity around her identity and citizenship, Emma has been blackguarded and pursued through the courts by a very hostile and belligerent British system.

I appreciate that the Taoiseach has raised these matters in the past with Mrs. May, that he has raised them with the Secretary of State, and that he will do so again. I put it to him, however, that simply raising the issue is not sufficient. We need a resolution to this matter and it needs to happen in a speedy fashion. Emma is very clear in her understanding of the hostility of the Home Office towards her and Jake, her American-born husband. She has also flagged for all of us the reality that that same British system is seeking to deny, frustrate or rob Irish citizens, and therefore EU citizens, of their citizenship rights in the North of Ireland in a post-Brexit scenario. I ask the Taoiseach to do more than politely raise this matter. I invite him to insist that the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, moves speedily to introduce the required legislation through Westminster to ensure that Irish citizens living in Ireland are recognised and respected as Irish.

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