I move amendment No. 4:
In page 31, before section 31, but in Part 10, to insert the following new section:
31.—The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 is amended—
(a) in section 15 (as amended by section 4 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1986)—
(i) by the substitution of the following for subsection (1)(e):
"(e) has, before a judge of the District Court in open court, in a citizenship ceremony or in such manner as the Minister, for
special reasons, allows—
(i) made a declaration, in the prescribed manner, of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State, and
(ii) undertaken to faithfully observe the laws of the State and to respect its democratic values.",
and
(ii) by the insertion of the following after subsection (3) (inserted by section 8 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004):
"(4) In this section and section 15A, ‘citizenship ceremony' means a ceremony, held before a judge, or a retired judge, of the District Court, Circuit Court, High Court or Supreme Court, at a place and in a form approved by the Minister, at which the applicant has made the declaration and undertaking referred to in subsection (1)(e) or section 15A(1)(h).”,
(b) by the substitution of the following section for section 15A (inserted by section 5 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2001)—
"15A.—(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 15, the Minister may, in his or her absolute discretion, grant an application for a certificate of naturalisation to the non-national spouse or civil partner of an Irish citizen if satisfied that the applicant—
(a) is of full age,
(b) is of good character,
(c) and that citizen—
(i) are married to each other, have been married to each other for a period of not less than 3 years, and are living
together, as attested to by affidavit submitted by the citizen to the Minister in the prescribed form, or
(ii) are civil partners of each other, have been civil partners of each other for a period of not less than 3 years, and are
living together, as attested to by affidavit submitted by the citizen to the Minister in the prescribed form,
(d) is, in the case of a spouse, in a marriage recognised under the laws of the State as subsisting,
(e) had immediately before the date of the application a period of one year’s continuous residence in the island of Ireland,
(f) had, during the 4 years immediately preceding that period, a total residence in the island of Ireland amounting to 2 years,
(g) intends in good faith to continue to reside in the island of Ireland after naturalisation, and
(h) has, before a judge of the District Court in open court, in a citizenship ceremony or in such manner as the Minister, for
special reasons, allows—
(i) made a declaration, in the prescribed manner, of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State, and
(ii) undertaken to faithfully observe the laws of the State and to respect its democratic values.
(2) The Minister may, in his or her absolute discretion, waive the conditions at paragraph (c), (e), (f) or (g) of subsection (1) or any of them if satisfied that the applicant would suffer serious consequences in respect of his or her bodily integrity or liberty if not granted Irish citizenship.
(3) Paragraph (g) of subsection (1) shall not apply to an applicant for a certificate of naturalisation to whom subsection (4) applies.
(4) Any period of residence outside the island of Ireland, during which —
(a) the applicant for a certificate of naturalisation to which this section applies was—
(i) married to and living with his or her spouse, or
(ii) in a civil partnership with and living with his or her civil partner, and
(b) the applicant’s spouse or, as the case may be, civil partner was in the public service, shall be reckoned as a period of residence in the island of Ireland for the purposes of calculating—
(i) continuous residence under paragraph (e) of subsection (1), or
(ii) total residence under paragraph (f) of that subsection.
(5) In this section,'civil partner' has the same meaning as it has in section 3 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010.".
and
(c) by the substitution of the following section for section 17 (amended by section 12 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004):
"17.—An application for a certificate of naturalisation shall be—
(a) in the prescribed form, and
(b) accompanied by—
(i) such fee (if any) as may be prescribed, and
(ii) such evidence (including statutory declarations) to vouch the application as the Minister may require.".".
This amendment deals with citizenship matters and the issue of civil partnerships. The effect of the amendment is twofold: to provide, for the first time in statute, for citizenships ceremonies for those applicants granted Irish citizenship; and to address the position of civil partners, as I referred to on Second Stage.
Our citizenship laws do not currently make explicit and specific provision for citizenship ceremonies, a lacuna we are seeking to address in this provision. Such ceremonies are intended to mark in a formal way the significance of the granting of citizenship. Following a successful pilot ceremony on 24 June, I am seeking to provide for such ceremonies for all successful applicants for a certificate of naturalisation, which will serve to elevate the status of the granting of citizenship and to celebrate a major event in the lives of immigrants. It is appropriate that our citizenship laws should be amended to reflect this new position.
Further ceremonies are being scheduled for later this year at various venues. We were able to hold the pilot ceremony only because there is a specific provision to allow the Minister to exercise his discretion in particular circumstances in order to facilitate the granting of citizenship and the swearing of an oath in a place other than a District Court. However, without a specific provision in the legislation, we could not continue indefinitely to hold the type of ceremony we held in Dublin Castle. That ceremony was warranted because of the large number of notifications of the granting of citizenship which I have signed as part of our efforts to tackle the backlog in applications. We have changed our business systems to reflect a more sensitive approach. In that context, a situation arose whereby thousands of individuals would be granted citizenship but could then suffer a further backlog in the court system in swearing fidelity to the State. Given those exceptional circumstances, it was lawfully possible to have the pilot ceremony.
However, if we reach our objective of clearing the backlog by late spring or early summer of next year, there would not then be a basis for continuing to hold these ceremonies. It is important that people granted citizenship regard it as an important day in their lives and a memorable event in which families can participate. In the pilot ceremony, each individual granted citizenship was permitted to bring with them two individuals, friends or relations. There were many children and spouses in attendance and it was a happy occasion.
In the case of some of the citizenship ceremonies that will take place in July and September, we envisage that because of the numbers involved and our concern to ensure people are not delayed in receiving their certificates, the number of guests per person may temporarily be reduced to one. This will allow us to grant declarations of citizenship and for people to swear their fidelity to the State in greater numbers. However, the intention is that individuals will thereafter have an entitlement to have two guests and that it will continue to be a celebratory occasion. My Department provided refreshments at the pilot ceremony and people were facilitated to take photographs. That is how it should always have been done and how it should continue to be done, regardless of who is Minister for Justice and Equality in the future. The change we have effected has been very much welcomed by many individuals. It is important that we value the individuals who wish to be citizens of our State and to reside therein.
The civil partnership amendments to be included in section 15A of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as inserted by the proposed section 31, stem from Senator Katherine Zappone's amendment in the Seanad. Unfortunately, we did not have time to debate her proposal on Committee Stage in the Upper House, although it was discussed on Report Stage. While the amendment goes some way to dealing with the citizenship rights of civil partners, I am aware that various other provisions in our citizenship laws also require amendment. I intend to bring forward proposals on Report Stage that will address these issues of citizenship law in the context of civil partnership.
The proposal with regard to the substitution of section 17 of the 1956 Act, as inserted by the proposed section 31, is purely technical, as section 23 of the Act is being replaced. There is no change to the existing text of section 17.