Seanad debates
Wednesday, 22 October 2003
Irish Nationality and Citizenship and Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage.
I would support the idea of business permission if we should ever return to the position in which we found ourselves in the mid-1980s when successive Governments tried to attract business interests to establish operations here in order to try to create employment. That is a different issue. If the Government was ever in a position whereby it would be obliged to lure people from other countries to create employment here and sought to formulate a scheme under which business permissions would be granted – such a scheme would have to include strict criteria in order that there would be no innuendo about passports being for sale – I would consider it on its merits. However, I agree with Senator Quinn that the principle of passports for sale must never enter into our language again.
No comments