Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Thar ceann an grúpa Sinn Féin, ba mhaith liom cás Emma DeSouza agus cúrsaí saoránachta ó Thuaidh a ardú arís.

I draw Senators' attention to a motion in my name and the names of my Sinn Féin colleagues on the ongoing concerns about citizenship and citizenship rights in the North under the Good Friday Agreement, not least in the context of Brexit. Anyone who has been following these issues on social media will have seen the hashtag #weareIrishtoo and #IstandwithEmma. I have consistently raised Emma DeSouza's case in this House over the past two years. The case has brought the unimplemented aspects of the Good Friday Agreement relating to our citizenship rights into sharp focus. We know that the Good Friday Agreement confers on all of us the right to be accepted as Irish, British or both. I seek the support of the House for the motion, which I will not move until next week to give Senators an opportunity to digest its content and engage with the issue. I will seek an opportunity for the House to discuss the motion and the issues it raises. The latest extension in the Brexit fiasco has given us a degree of breathing space and of room to home in on this issue. A rally will be held at Belfast City Hall at 12 noon next Saturday under the banner "We are Irish Too". It has been organised by Ms DeSouza and the Think32 lobby group to draw attention to the issue, bring people together and, it is hoped, focus the minds of the two Governments on finding a resolution to this issue in the context of the Brexit negotiations and the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Last week, the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, responded to a Commencement matter I tabled on this matter. The thrust of her response was that the Government would await the review of these issues announced by the British Prime Minister, Theresa May. It has subsequently transpired that the British Government will not hold a formal review and there are no terms of reference or timescale for the review. A vast glaring anomaly is staring at us as a result of Brexit and it illustrates how this crucial part of the Good Friday Agreement remains unfulfilled. If we do not sort it out, people will be further disenfranchised and a third tier of Irish citizenship will be created. We will no longer be second class citizens in the context of Brexit; we will be third class citizens. I ask that Members read the motion to get a feel for it. All parties have indicated support for Ms DeSouza and for securing a resolution to this issue. I hope that next week we will get the opportunity to discuss the motion with the Government prior to the Easter recess and as we face into the Brexit extension.