Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This ruling represents a clear and deeply worrying development. The identity and citizenship provisions are critical to the integrity of the Agreement and must be protected and defended to the hilt. The Good Friday Agreement is crystal clear on the terms of citizenship. Emma DeSouza is an Irish citizen and it is disgraceful that she should have to go to court to prove it. Emma herself has said that the core of this issue is the fact that she is not a British citizen. She has not held a British passport, she has not accepted British citizenship and she understands that the Good Friday Agreement gave an explicit right to identify and be accepted as Irish or British or both. She said she is Irish, that it was not a choice or a decision; it is simply who she is.

I welcome that the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade raised this case with his British counterpart and the Taoiseach raised it with the British Prime Minister. The Good Friday Agreement is an internationally binding treaty, overwhelmingly endorsed by the Irish people. Did the British Government clarify to the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade its commitment to the Good Friday Agreement, say it will end this undermining of the citizenship and identity provisions and will it introduce new legislation to ensure it fully complies with the Good Friday Agreement and stop the discrimination of citizens like Emma DeSouza?

See this speech in context