Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)

I want the Deputy to know that Irish passports and citizenship are not granted easily. I am sure that if the Minister for foreign affairs were here, he would confirm that is true of passports. With regard to citizenship, many colleagues in this House ask me about citizenship applications. They criticise how long they take and ask why the process is so lengthy. The reason is that you have to do very significant vetting and testing before an individual is granted citizenship. That is done vigorously. The criticism I usually face from people in the House is that it takes too long and that the process should be sped up.

With regard to people coming to Ireland claiming international protection, as I have told the Deputy, people who arrive in any EU country without documentation are entitled to claim asylum. However, if they are discovered to have destroyed documentation, that is a criminal offence and people have been prosecuted for that offence under the Immigration Act. Our systems are getting more vigorous.

See this speech in context