I move that this Bill be now read a Second Time. I think this is the first time that an Irish Parliament was invited to discuss proposals for the regulation throughout the world of Irish citizenship. As the Deputies know, Article 3 of the Constitution created only a very limited citizenship. Citizenship was confined then to the limits of the jurisdiction of the Saorstát as it was on December the 6th, 1921, to certain classes of people. That article of the Constitution contemplated that conditions governing the acquisition and determination of citizenship should be determined as regards the future, after that day, by law.
No such law has been passed and the result of that has been that many anomalies have occurred. We propose now both to extend that article of the Constitution by the amending Bill which was introduced into the House on yesterday and also to implement the article by providing the necessary legislation to govern the conditions for the acquisition and determination of citizenship. The need for this has been felt both in the domestic sphere and in the sphere of our international relations. In the domestic sphere we need an exact statutory definition of citizenship. For example, we need it in connection with our electoral system, in connection with entry into the public service, in connection with our merchant shipping laws, in connection with the ownership of aircraft, in connection with those special privileges which we think should be reserved for our own citizens and in connection with our general economic system. In fact, you might say we need that in relation to every domain or sphere in which we want our own citizens to enjoy special rights and privileges.
In our external relations we require it also in a very special way. As you know, we have established diplomatic missions abroad in many countries. We have such missions at the moment in Washington, in Paris and Brussels; in Berlin and in the State of the Vatican City as well as in London. And the purpose of these diplomatic missions is not merely to establish relations with the Governments of the particular countries, but also to give such of our nationals as may be in those countries what is sometimes a very necessary protection and to provide for them advice and facilities when they need them. That advice and facilities are also afforded by our consular service. That consular service is being extended very widely now in the United States. These consuls perform many functions for the benefit of our nationals. They have notarial functions, they have functions in regard to registers, to verification of births, marriages and deaths. They have activities in the defence of the interests of our citizens both in and out of court, in connection, for example, with the estates of deceased persons—estates in which Irish citizens may have an interest.
Then there are passports. In the exercise of all those functions it is very necessary that it should be capable of being determined without ambiguity whether a particular person is or is not a citizen of our country. For that reason I think every Deputy in the House should welcome the introduction of this Bill. If you examine the Bill you will find that it falls naturally into three main sections:—first of all, the section relating to natural-born citizenship. That I think, is dealt with in Section 2. A number of sections then relate to the acquisition of citizenship by naturalisation certificate. A special Part of the Bill relates to the acquisition of citizenship by marriage. Section 13 and a few sections following deal particularly with that matter.
Then we have the portion beginning, I think, with Section 21 that deals with citizenship rights. These are the main sections—the sections dealing with natural-born citizens; the acquisition of citizenship, including the marriage provisions and the provision for reciprocal or mutual citizenship rights. Any sections that do not come directly under these are of a miscellaneous character and they more or less stand by themselves. They are intelligible generally one by one. I am going to take them for a moment, beginning with Section 2. Section 2 deals with the whole question of definition of who is, or is to be, a natural-born citizen.
Natural-born citizens, you will find, are in two categories, those who are born in the territory of Saorstát Eireann or those whose fathers are citizens, whether these fathers were themselves born in the territory of Saorstát Eireann or not, and you will find that in regard to the latter, in the case of those living outside the territory, the children of fathers who were themselves born in Saorstát Eireann, these children automatically became natural-born citizens. But the children of fathers who were not themselves born in Saorstát Eireann have to be registered in a book called the Foreign Births Entry Book, which will be kept in the Legations, where we have such, or in the Foreign Births Register, which will be preserved by the Minister for External Affairs here at home. It seems not unreasonable to demand that where the father was not born in this country and acquired let us say, his citizenship automatically through his father, he, being more detached from this country, should, if he wishes his child to be a citizen of this country, perform some positive act in that regard and that positive act is to have the birth of the child entered in the Foreign Births Entry Book. The child himself or herself, on attaining 21 years of age, will, in addition, have to signify the desire to be an Irish citizen. That, I think, covers the main provisions of Section 2.
The next series of sections govern the acquisition of citizenship by a process of naturalisation. Any person who fulfills certain conditions can apply for citizenship or a certificate of naturalisation. The Minister for Justice will consider whether the prescribed conditions are fulfilled and it is at his absolute discretion to decide whether he shall or shall not give the certificate. The conditions are laid down. There is the residence condition which demands that there shall be, previous to the application for citizenship, at least five years' residence in the territory of the Saorstát, one year immediately preceding the date of application and the further four years either continuous or summing up to a period of four years, but at any rate amounting to four years in the preceding eight. In other words, there is to be a total period of five years over a period of nine and one of the five years must be that immediately preceding the application.
There are other conditions which must also be fulfilled. The applicant must be of good character. He must have resided continuously for the period I have indicated. He must intend to become ordinarily resident in the country and he must make a declaration of acceptance of citizenship. Unless these conditions are fulfilled the certificate of naturalisation shall not issue. Certain exceptions with regard to residence are made. There is the exception made in favour of those who were not included, for example, in the limited citizenship conferred by Article 3 who wish to return to this country and they can be given a certificate of naturalisation after a period of residence of one year. The same exception is to be made in the case of certain widows. Perhaps the House may consider that that particular year is not necessary and if there is any volume of opinion in favour of cutting out that qualifying period of one year in these cases, I am certainly open to consider it.
The next portion of the Bill to which I would like to refer is that portion dealing with the nationality of one spouse where one is an Irish national and the other is an alien. We propose that marriage of itself should neither confer citizenship nor deprive an Irish national of citizenship.
You will be able to see the principles that underlie these provisions most easily, perhaps, if you classify the cases in this way : Take the case of an Irish citizen marrying a non-national, where the parties intend to reside outside the country or are residing outside the country. You sub-divide that class into those who marry subsequent to the passing of this Act and those who will have married prior to the passing of the Act. After the passing of the Act those who thus reside outside the country are given one year within which the Irish national can make a declaration of election to retain Irish nationality. If that declaration is not made within one year after the marriage, then that national ceases to be a citizen. In the case of marriage before the passing of this Act, if there is residence abroad, then a period of one year is given in which the necessary declaration can be made. In the case of marriages of that sort, where the parties propose to reside in this country, we can make the same sub-divisions as in the previous case—those who will be married after the passing of the Act and those who will have been married before the passing of the Act. In the case of those who will be married after the passing of the Act, the Bill allows a period of six months, but we may extend that on Committee Stage and make it, as in the other case, a period of a year. In the case of those who have married before the passing of the Act and who are here for a period of two years or continuously since their marriage, on the Minister being satisfied that such a period has elapsed, the non-national can apply for a naturalisation certificate and the Minister can give it.
The next group of sections to which I would direct attention is that regarding the mutual or reciprocal rights which it is proposed to grant to citizens of other countries in certain cases. The general principle is that if our citizens, either in virtue of a convention or treaty entered into with these countries or because of the law in force in these countries, enjoy in these countries certain rights and privileges, we are prepared to accord the same rights and privileges here directly as a result of the operation of this Act. Then the rights and privileges accorded to the citizens of other countries here will be those settled and agreed to in the convention. I do not think that any such convention has been entered into by our State so far. Where the law provides in other countries that our nationals get certain privileges, then the Executive Council can, by order, give to citizens of the countries in which such a law in favour of our citizens is in force corresponding rights and privileges here. There are, however, reservations. It is expressly provided in this Bill that the special rights and privileges that may be reserved by statutes, such as the Control of Manufactures Act, are still to be reserved for own own citizens.
I do not think that it is necessary for me to refer in detail to the miscellaneous provisions. The only important other provision is that contained in Section 28 regarding the repeal of the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, 1914, and the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, 1918, to the extent that they may have been or be deemed to be in operation here. The need of that, I think, will be apparent to everybody. It is a necessary safeguard to ensure that no question of that kind can arise. This is, as you will see, a very important Bill. We are anxious to have the fullest possible discussion upon it. In Committee we shall, of course, have an opportunity of examining it section by section and line by line.
Any proposed amendments will be examined and given the fullest possible consideration. I do not think that this ought to be a controversial Bill. It certainly is not conceived, and, indeed, it would be altogether wrong to have a Bill of this sort conceived, in any narrow or Party spirit. We expect that every Deputy in the House will take the closest interest in it and I feel certain that, when it passes, there will be no reason for dissatisfaction but every reason for satisfaction that the Bill has become law.