The Bill and a memorandum explaining its provisions have been in the hands of Deputies since 14th December. On the Second Reading I propose to give, fairly briefly, the broad general outlines of what the Bill proposes to do, why particular principles are followed —some of which are at variance with the principles followed in framing the Act of 1935—and why the Government feel that the ends sought can best be achieved in the framework of the Bill before you.
First and foremost I feel that I should make a passing reference to the constitutional necessity to enact legislation dealing with the acquisition and loss of Irish nationality and citizenship.
Article 9.1.2º of the Constitution reads:—
"the future acquisition and loss of Irish nationality and citizenship shall be determined in accordance with law."
Undoubtedly, the task of framing legislation to give effect to the constitutional provision would have been undertaken more immediately following the coming into operation of the Constitution but for the war, and its aftermath, and all the attendant problems. As it is, the proposals in the Bill before the House have been under the consideration of Government for some considerable time. In some respects there was very little to choose between alternative proposals before the Government but it was finally decided to put forward the proposals in the Bill. All these matters will, of course, be brought to the notice of the House in Committee. The Bill is essentially a Bill to be examined section by section, and line by line. The Government feel that examination of the Bill should not be hurried and that Deputies should take all the time that is required for a painstaking examination of its provisions.
The Bill is in five Parts. Part I has the usual clauses relating to definitions, regulations and provisions for expenses, but the last section in this Part-Section 5—provides for the repeal of the Acts of 1935 and 1937 and at the same time it provides that all citizenships existing at the time that this Bill is being enacted into law will be preserved.
Part II deals with the ways in which Irish citizenship may be established or acquired—established by birth in Ireland and by descent through the blood, with formalities to be complied with in certain eventualities; acquired, by alien women on marriage to Irish citizens, by posthumous children, by foundlings, by adopted children, by the grant of citizenship as a token of honour and by birth in an Irish ship or aircraft.
Section 6—the section dealing with the citizenship of living persons born in Ireland or of an Irish father or mother—is, of course, the principal section of the Bill. In the Government's consideration of how Irish citizenship should be established, for the future, we had to go back and examine the provisions under which citizenship had been established hitherto, that is, under Article 3 of the Constitution of Saorstát Éireann (1922) and the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1935, as amended by the Act of 1937. Article 3 established citizenship at a particular point of time, that is on the date of establishment of the new State—6th December, 1922; it provided for citizenship of both males and females domiciled on that date in Ireland who had been born in Ireland or whose father or mother had been born in Ireland or who had been ordinarily resident in Ireland for not less than 7 years; it also provided that "the conditions governing the future acquisition and termination of citizenship of Saorstát Éireann shall be determined by law." Now, in the event, the future "acquisition and termination of citizenship" provided for by Article 3 turned out to be the Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1935 (as amended by the Act of 1937).
In framing the 1935 Act the then Government provided that in the case of persons born after 6th December, 1922, citizenship might be established by descent from the father; secondly, by birth in the Twenty-Six Counties; and, thirdly, by registration within two years of birth in the case of a person born outside the Twenty-Six Counties on or after the passing of the Act (10th April, 1935) of a father born outside the Twenty-Six Counties on or after 6th December, 1922. There was no provision for citizenship by descent from the mother—as Article 3 of the 1922 Constitution seemed to foreshadow—and there was no provision recognising birth in the Six Counties as birth in portion of the national territory.
Reading the debates (Volume 54) on the early stages of the Bill which, later, was enacted into law as the Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1935, it is apparent that some provisions in the Bill were framed with a view to avoiding the creation of dual or multiple citizenship. This attitude was responsible, no doubt, for the rejection of suggestions that the Bill should provide for citizenship by descent from the mother as well as from the father and that alien wives should have a right to the citizenship of their Irish husbands.
The experience of this and other countries in the last 25 years goes to show that dual or multiple citizenship creates few real problems and that such problems as there are are solved reasonably satisfactorily by the rule enunciated by the Hague Convention on Conflict of Nationality Laws, of 1930, which lays down that a State in dealing with one of its nationals is entitled to disregard the fact that he also possesses the nationality of another State but cannot extend diplomatic protection to such a national against the other State of which he is a national. In other words, an Irish citizen within the jurisdiction can be dealt with without regard to any other citizenship he may have but when an Irish citizen is resident in another country of which he is also a citizen he cannot call on the Irish diplomatic mission or consular office in that country for protection.
Dual nationality cannot be avoided unless all countries were to frame their nationality legislation on identical lines. As it is, most countries, including our own, recognise the principles of nationality both by birth and by blood. Whatever the arguments may be against the concept of multiple citizenship this Government, at any rate, are determined that our nationality law should not be framed to exclude persons born in any portion of the national territory or persons who are of Irish stock. We are making provision, accordingly, and we are recognising in our nationality law, the principle of derivation of citizenship from both the father and mother. While derivation of citizenship from the mother is new to our law it features, of course, in the nationality laws of many countries—countries such as France and Turkey provide for derivation from the mother in full just as this Bill does; the United States of America does with a residence qualification; Belgium, Portugal, Argentina etc., with opting qualification and so on.
Under our existing citizenship law, the great majority of persons born in the Six Counties are Irish citizens. They are Article 3 citizens, or the children of Irish fathers, or citizens by registration. But there are new generations growing up: the children born of Irish mothers and children born in the Six Counties of fathers born since 1922 in the Six Counties. These generations are of Irish stock and this Bill provides for their Irish citizenship without the fulfilment of any artificial requirements on their part such as registration. Citizenship is, in our opinion, their birthright.
Before I leave Section 6, on which I have spoken just now as it affects the North, I should mention, of course, that the section will determine, without any shilly-shallying, the Irish citizenship of all those persons throughout the world who were born, before the establishment of the State, in Ireland or of a father or mother born in Ireland and who were not domiciled here on 6th December, 1922. Under existing law, such persons did not have Irish citizenship unless they took up permanent residence in the Twenty-Six Counties or, if permanently living abroad and not naturalised citizens of any other country, registered their names in the registers of nationals kept for that purpose. Under this Bill, they are Irish citizens without fulfilling formalities of any kind.
Deputies will observe in Section 7 that we give special recognition to the fact of birth in the Six Counties. As I have explained earlier—and this has been set out in some detail in the Explanatory Memorandum which was circulated when the Bill was being introduced—the vast majority of those in the Six Counties who, of course, are of Irish stock will have Irish nationality and citizenship when this Bill is enacted into law. The great majority who are Irish citizens under existing law will be turned into a still vaster majority but there will still remain a limited category born in the Six Counties since 1922 who are of entirely alien parentage without any racial ties, and for these, in recognition of their birth alone in that portion of the national territory which is for the time being outside our jurisdiction, we provide that on making a voluntary declaration their Irish citizenship operates from the date of their birth and is the citizenship of their children. Section 7 also provides for citizenship by registration in the case of persons born outside Ireland of parents who are Irish citizens born outside Ireland. This is somewhat similar to the provisions of existing law, but where our 1935 Act requires registration in the case of a person born outside the Twenty-Six Counties of an Irish father born outside the Twenty-Six Counties, this Bill requires registration only in the case of a person born outside the 32 Counties of either an Irish father or an Irish mother born outside the 32 Counties. A result of this new provision is that birth in the national territory of the Six Counties is recognised, just as in the Twenty-Six Counties, as enabling Irish citizenship to be transmitted from either the father or mother to the children in a never ending chain, without any formality of registration.
Turning to Section 8 which deals with citizenship in its relationship to marriage, the House will observe that we are providing that an alien woman on marriage to an Irish citizen will have a right to citizenship on making a declaration accepting citizenship. This is a departure from the provisions of existing law under which such citizenship can only be acquired by process of naturalisation and by permission of the Minister for Justice. To be naturalised, the alien wife of an Irish citizen must be residing in the State and bona fide intend to be resident here. Furthermore, such citizenship may be terminated on revocation of the certificate of naturalisation at the absolute discretion of the Minister for Justice. The provisions of the Act of 1935 are, we feel, out of harmony with the Constitution which, in Article 41, has concern for the institution of marriage upon which the family is founded. There are many ways in which citizenship in its relation to marriage might be treated. We feel that we are adopting a procedure which implements the constitutional concern for the family unit and, moreover, is of substantial convenience to the parties concerned. We do not go so far as to provide for the automatic grant of citizenship to an alien woman on marriage to an Irish citizen as that might not necessarily be in the interests of the parties concerned.
No doubt, we will go into the marriage clause fairly closely on the Committee Stage when we come to discuss Sections 8, 20 and 23. And it will suffice to mention here, I think, that marriage of an Irish citizen to an alien does not affect the Irish citizenship; on the other hand, marriage of an alien woman to an Irish citizen by birth or blood enables her to voluntarily acquire Irish citizenship while a male alien on marriage to an Irish citizen by birth or blood may get citizenship by process of naturalisation in which he may be exempted from complying with the conditions which apply generally to applicants for certificates of naturalisation.
The remaining sections of Part II of the Bill are concerned with minor matters which scarcely call for comment just now, save, perhaps, Section 12 which provides for the grant of citizenship as a token of honour; the grant of a certificate of citizenship by the President—which, under Article 13 of the Constitution, is exercisable only on the advice of Government—is intended to attach a special solemnity and dignity to such a grant. The certificate will not be revocable as was the corresponding certificate of naturalisation issued under the 1935 Act by the Minister for Justice on the direction of Government.
Part III of the Bill deals with the acquisition of citizenship by process of naturalisation and the circumstances under which a certificate of naturalisation may be revoked.
As under the 1935 Act, the Minister has an absolute discretion to refuse a certificate of naturalisation. There are certain conditions as to character, residence, etc., precedent to the grant of a certificate and these differ only in minor respects from the requirements under existing law. A new provision is that the applicant will require to make in open court before a district justice a declaration of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State. In special circumstances which are enumerated in Section 16, the Minister may dispense with the conditions of naturalisation.
It is in the section dealing with revocation of certificates of naturalisation that the Bill differs radically from the provisions of existing law. In the Act of 1935, the Minister has an absolute discretion to revoke any certificate of naturalisation and he is obliged to revoke in stated circumstances. Under the provisions of this Bill, revocation of a certificate of naturalisation may only be effected for stated reasons and after the person concerned has been given an opportunity of having the facts of his case reported on to the Minister for Justice by a committee with a chairman of judicial experience. We feel that persons who acquire Irish citizenship by process of naturalisation should have a feeling of security in their possession of that citizenship. They should be placed in a position of knowing, when they are acquiring Irish citizenship, that it can only be taken away from them for stated reasons and that before their certificate of naturalisation as an Irish citizen is revoked they can have the reason for revocation examined into and reported on to the Minister for Justice by a body, independent of his Department with a chairman of judicial experience. This line of approach will, I feel, commend itself to the House.
Before passing away from the naturalisation provisions, I feel that I should draw Deputies' attention to the fact that we do not propose to re-enact the provision in the 1935 Act which provides for revocation of a certificate when the holder has been convicted of a serious criminal offence. We feel that once a person has been admitted to Irish citizenship, he should be subject to the law generally applying to citizens, and no more: this view of the matter has been reached after careful consideration.
Part IV deals with loss of citizenship. In Section 19, we are providing that an Irish citizen ordinarily resident outside the Twenty-Six Counties, who is or is about to become a citizen of another country, may renounce his Irish citizenship by making a declaration of alienage in a prescribed manner. We are leaving it, as far as our laws are concerned, at the option of the Irish citizen living abroad who has a second citizenship, to retain or discard his Irish citizenship. The laws of his country of residence may require an individual allegiance. We do not think it right that we should insist on regarding as of Irish citizenship a person living abroad who is of, or is about to acquire, another citizenship and wishes to have only that citizenship. There is no provision for renunciation of citizenship in the Act of 1935. On the other hand, while there is a provision in the Act of 1935 that Irish citizenship is lost on the voluntary acquisition of a second citizenship, this Bill does not so provide.
Here, again, is an acceptance of the idea of multiple citizenship which I mentioned already in discussing Part II of the Bill. We recognise that there may be cogent arguments for following the precedent of our existing law, but, on balance, we feel that our law should not deprive of Irish citizenship a person who goes abroad and acquires another citizenship. Ireland is a mother country, with large overseas populations, many of whom were forced to emigrate and to become citizens of another country for economic reasons, but who, nevertheless, have ties of affection and racial pride with the home land. Why should we seek nationally to disown our own flesh and blood, if the laws of their adopted country permit the retention of the citizenship of their birth and heritage?
The remaining sections of Part IV do not call for particular comment at this stage.
Part V is, in general, a repetition of provisions in the 1935 Act: it deals with the grant of citizenship rights and privileges to citizens of other countries on a basis of reciprocity, the establishment of a registry of births abroad, and the grant of certificates of nationality which will be prima facie evidence of the citizenship of the holder.
I do not propose to go further into the Bill just now. The memorandum circulated with the Bill gives, in detail, an explanation of the provisions. My fear is that Deputies may be confused by the wealth of detail in the memorandum and that in seeking to give an accurate, comprehensive explanation of the provisions of the Bill, the memorandum may have lost clarity, in addition to brevity, at some points.
I am confident that the principles of the Bill will receive general support and that any differences of detail will be ironed out in later stages.