Results 841-860 of 18,726 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: This referendum, if passed, will not deprive anybody of citizenship who is an Irish citizen. Therefore, to take the Senator's example of two Albanians who have had a child in Ireland who is now an Irish citizen, as matters stand their presence in Ireland falls to be decided in accordance with the principles laid down in the L and O case. Having an Irish citizen child is not an absolute...

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: Senator Terry and Senator Tuffy raised the instance of a family with one child who is an Irish citizen and another who is not. However, that instance occurs as matters stand. There are thousands of families in Ireland where one of the older children is not an Irish citizen while the youngest is a citizen. It does not seem to me to complicate life for those parents. A Nigerian family with one...

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: It is amusing that this document, which has been the subject of passionate debate, has never been put in the public domain. This demonstrates an uncharacteristic shyness on the part of the Labour Party.

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: I must correct my previous statement. I am told that Deputy Quinn read large chunks of the letter into the record on Committee Stage of the Bill in the Dáil. I do not know which chunks he read. Tarraingíodh siar an leasú faoi chead.

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: It could happen.

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: This issue had already been anticipated by the ingenuity of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel. If one considers the theme of the Government's proposed legislation, it proposes to extend citizenship by statute to a person born on the island of Ireland if the person was born to parents, one of whom was deceased at the time of the person's birth, or if the deceased person was, immediately before...

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: That is correct. The minimum guarantee is that the group of people referred to will be guaranteed citizenship. There is the possibility of a mother being kept alive on a machine, for example, though that would be rare. It is much more likely that an Irish father would predecease the child. In those circumstances one would encounter all sorts of complications. I do not want to get into the...

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: In so far as this new law permits the Oireachtas to determine the circumstances in which people born north and south of the Border shall obtain Irish citizenship, it would be unconstitutional to avail of this referendum to distinguish between the people of Northern Ireland, as defined in the British-Irish Agreement, and the people of the South with regard to their entitlement. The clear...

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: No.

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: I did not say that about parties.

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: I am grateful to the Senator for the points she has made. I am not in the slightest bit tetchy about this subject. When I went home that evening and saw the reaction to what I said, it suddenly occurred to me that what I actually said could have been reasonably interpreted as applying to the SDLP, but it was not my view at the time. I was thinking about the arguments, which were then being...

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: If I had run with that amendment, the aeroplane would never have lifted off the runway.

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: The child never had a constitutional right until 1999 in those circumstances. It was a statutory right. The world went on very well without a constitutional right until 1999. The roof will not fall in in similar circumstances now. To be practical about it, anybody who is living in Ireland on a long-term basis is entitled to claim Irish nationality. If that person was entitled to live in...

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: I will give the Senator an example. A Unionist in Northern Ireland is a non-national who was born in Ireland.

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: There is a very simple answer to that question. If Senator Hayes's proposition were incorrect, that would not be a cause for worry, as it is open to the Oireachtas to legislate on the matter.

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: Interestingly, we could spend many hours discussing whether there is a distinction to be drawn between citizenship and nationality in practical terms today, as they are used interchangeably in many documents and areas. This sounds terrible, but I believe that a theoretical distinction between the two existed in Europe until the Second World War. There were some societies in Europe which...

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: I definitely accept the proposition that the Irish nation and State are separate concepts, and that is probably to be found if one examines the text of the Constitution itself. The first part of the Constitution, covering Articles 1 to 3, inclusive, is headed "The Nation", and "The State" is the heading for Article 4 onwards, so there are different concepts at play. I am not suggesting that...

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: Yes, there is the right to vote.

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: Yes.

Seanad: Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: Let us examine Article 9.2 of the Constitution as it stands. It states "Fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State are fundamental political duties of all citizens". A distinction is being drawn there, as it does not state "fidelity and loyalty to the nation and State".