Maurice Hayes (Independent)

I thank Senator Dardis for sharing time with me and I welcome the Minister to the House. I was cheered by the tone of the Minister's speech on which I commend him.

It is important to put this Bill in a context in which this country is seen to be welcoming to those who come to contribute to it. I look forward to the discussion paper on migration law. Our future economic development will depend on people coming to work here and it is clear that those countries around the world that have sustained economic development have open immigration policies.

The Minister has spiked one of my guns. I was going to ask for consolidated legislation and I understand from his speech that it is on its way.

I was concerned about the position of people in Northern Ireland, particularly Nationalists, and I am glad the Bill makes it clear that their entitlement to citizenship has not been diminished by this in any way. Having said that, there is not much point in messing around too much. The Minister is simply following the wish of the people expressed in a referendum that the changes should be made and these flow from it.

I do not have the definitions section of the primary Act and there is a provision in section 9 for the public service. It is proper that should be covered but to ensure the rights of people in Northern Ireland, does it include the public service in Northern Ireland? It might be defined as the public service of this State and, if so, it might be necessary to make a slight adjustment. There are people in Northern Ireland who would be entitled to Irish citizenship and might not get the benefit from that.

I too opposed the idea of obstetric tourism and I am glad that the Minister has dealt with that unintended consequence of the Good Friday Agreement. I join with Senator Norris, however, in asking the Minister to deal as sympathetically as possible with those people who have an Irish-born child. There is now a quantified number of people that will not increase and children who were entitled to Irish citizenship should have the benefit of their parents. Those who have had to leave should also have their cases examined. It is possible to make a distinction between those who have shown a commitment to the country and an interest in staying and those who merely used the loophole as a means of getting to other parts of the EU. As Senator Norris said, it might be better, cheaper and more merciful in the long run to deal with these issues by a general amnesty.

I commend the Bill to the House and wish the Minister well.