Fergus O'Dowd
Question:728 Mr. O’Dowd asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of public order offences committed on St. Patrick’s Day 2004 in the towns of Drogheda, Dundalk and Ardee. [11593/04]
View answerTuesday, 27 April 2004
Questions (669, 670)
Written answers
I have made enquiries with the Garda authorities and I am informed that 20 public order offences were reported on St. Patrick's Day 2004 in the towns of Drogheda, Dundalk and Ardee. The information sought by the Deputy is detailed in the following table.
|
Number |
|
|
Drogheda |
1 |
|
Dundalk |
7 |
|
Ardee |
12 |
|
Total |
20 |
Joe Costello
Question:729 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a person (details supplied) is using their Irish passport to travel the world and that they are using it to enable them to stand for the European elections in their native country; if he will revoke this person’s passport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11594/04]
View answerSection 19 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 empowers the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to revoke a certificate of naturalisation in a number of specified circumstances. Those circumstances include cases where: the issue of the certificate was procured by fraud, misrepresentation, whether innocent or fraudulent, or concealment of material facts or circumstances; or the person to whom it was granted has, by any overt act, shown himself to have failed in his duty of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State; or the person to whom it is granted is also, under the law of a country at war with the State, a citizen of that country; or the person to whom it is granted has by any voluntary act other than marriage acquired another citizenship
Before revoking a certificate of naturalisation, the Minister must give notice to the person to whom the certificate was granted of his intention, stating the grounds therefor and the right of that person to apply to him for an inquiry as to the reasons for the revocation. If the person in question makes such a request, the Minister is obliged to appoint a committee of inquiry consisting of a chairman having judicial experience and such other person as he may think fit, and refer the case to them. Thereafter the committee must report its findings to the Minister with a view to informing his decision.
The revocation of a certificate of naturalisation is a serious matter and one in which the Minister must be in a position to show that the legal requirements have been fulfilled. It has never been the practice to comment on the details of individual cases and I do not intend to depart from that practice. If the Deputy, or indeed any Member of this House, is aware of any particular cases where the exercise of the Minister's power under section 19 may be appropriate, relevant details should be passed to me for investigation by the Garda.
The Deputy can be assured that if the circumstances of any particular case warrant revocation under the above provisions, I will have no hesitation in utilising my statutory powers to the fullest extent possible.