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Human Rights Issues.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 June 2004

Tuesday, 1 June 2004

Questions (43, 44)

Ciarán Cuffe

Question:

60 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the concerns raised by the Irish Human Rights Commission regarding the proposed referendum on citizenship; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16347/04]

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Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

Question:

85 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the Human Rights Commission’s concerns regarding the future constitutional protection of children if the Government’s citizenship referendum proposal is passed and its concern that the Government has failed to fully consider the best interests of the child as it is so obliged under international human rights law. [16341/04]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 60 and 85 together.

As I remarked in my reply to Deputy Ó Snodaigh's priority question, the Irish Human Rights Commission produced a 32-page document of observations on which it would not be possible in the limited time available for parliamentary questions for me to give a detailed response. I propose instead to concentrate here on the principal points made in those observations.

In summary, the commission asserts that being an Irish citizen makes the enjoyment of human rights in the State certain, whereas not being an Irish citizen means there is legal uncertainty and possible exclusion for the non-citizen from the enjoyment of those rights. I cannot accept the soundness of this assertion, because its logical conclusion is that in order to guarantee the protection of the human rights of a non-national present in the State, the State must confer Irish citizenship on every non-national who is in or comes to the State. This is a patently unacceptable proposition.

In making this assertion, the commission has not identified any respect in which the protections afforded by Irish law for the human rights of a non-national within the State would in fact be diminished, either because that person is a non-national or as a direct or indirect result of the acceptance by the people of the referendum proposal.

The commission asserts that the referendum proposal may be inconsistent with the State's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Ireland ratified in 1992. The proposal is that the Oireachtas be given power to determine by legislation the future acquisition and loss of Irish citizenship of a class of persons born in the State to parents neither of whom was an Irish citizen or entitled to be an Irish citizen at the time of the child's birth. This proposal, if accepted, will restore in part the position that prevailed at the time of the ratification of that convention, a position whereby the Oireachtas had power to make such legislation in respect of all classes of persons whether born in Ireland or not. If the present proposal were inconsistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, then so would have been the position when we ratified it in 1992 — but that was clearly not the case.

The commission acknowledges that there isan inconsistency between the British-Irish Agreement, at Article 1(vi) and Annex 2, and the wording of Article 2 of the Constitution which was included in the multi-party agreement at Annex 1 to the British-Irish Agreement. The commission's observations do not appear however to take proper account of the joint interpretative declaration made on 21 April last by the two Governments, whereby they acknowledge that it was not their intention in making the British-Irish Agreement that it should impose on either Government any obligation to confer citizenship on persons born in any part of Ireland whose parents do not have a sufficient connection with the island of Ireland and that the proposed constitutional change was not an amendment of the British-Irish Agreement.

I take this opportunity to remind the House that I have asked the Human Rights Commission for its observations on the draft implementing legislation published by the Government in conjunction with the referendum proposal. This is the legislation that will follow in the event of a "Yes" vote in the referendum. I am anxious to ensure that the commission's observations in due course on that draft legislation will inform the debate on the implementing legislation.

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