David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Bill, if enacted, would also change the rules significantly for Irish citizenship entitlement in Northern Ireland. Currently, one parent must be an Irish citizen or be entitled to claim the same for the child to qualify for Irish citizenship, or one parent must have been lawfully resident on the island of Ireland for three out of the previous four years. The Bill could be seen to encourage persons, whether legally or illegally resident in the UK, to travel to Northern Ireland to have a child and then remain there for three years to gain Irish citizenship for that child and, consequently, EU citizenship and its attendant rights without having entered the Republic of Ireland.