I propose to take Questions Nos. 517, 518 and 520 together.
No person will become stateless as a result of the constitutional change approved by the people on 11 June. The approval of the people of the citizenship referendum and the consequent amendment of the Constitution do not change the statutory position regarding the right of a person born in Ireland to acquire Irish citizenship as set out at present in section 6 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended in 2001. The Government signalled its legislative intentions with the publication of a document on 8 April last which included the draft text of a Bill to give effect to its policy on citizenship following acceptance of the referendum proposal. The preparation of a Bill on those lines is proceeding in my Department in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel. I have publicly indicated the Government's commitment to consulting the relevant parties in the North in advance of the publication of the Bill. I asked the Irish Human Rights Commission for its observations on the draft Bill. When it is published, I expect that the Bill will take appropriate account of the consultations and observations.
There is not and never has been a register of Irish-born citizens as such. There is no general requirement for a person born in Ireland who chooses to exercise the entitlement to Irish citizenship arising from that birth to do anything as a demonstration of that exercise. I do not propose to include provisions providing for such a register in the forthcoming Bill. The question of the procedure for issuing passports is a matter for the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I do not expect the forthcoming Bill to include specific provisions relating to passport procedures. In the context of the Bill, however, it is intended, to the greatest extent possible consistent with the practicalities, that there will be no difference in the steps necessary for a person born in Ireland to establish entitlement to be an Irish citizen irrespective of the place of birth in Ireland. As there are no implications in the acceptance by the people of the referendum proposal for the Good Friday Agreement, I do not expect that the provisions of the implementing Bill will have any such implications.