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Constitutional Amendments.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 June 2004

Tuesday, 15 June 2004

Questions (465, 466, 467, 468)

Ciarán Cuffe

Question:

517 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the changed procedures he intends to put in place to register children born here as Irish citizens and the charges he views this will impose on the public finances, in the event of the proposed citizenship referendum being passed. [17618/04]

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Ciarán Cuffe

Question:

518 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the fact that persons born in Northern Ireland can obtain an Irish passport by simply presenting their birth certificate as part of their application process; the changed procedures he intends to put in place for persons resident in Northern Ireland to claim Irish citizenship in the event of the proposed citizenship referendum being passed; and his views on the way in which this may impact on the Belfast Agreement. [17619/04]

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Ciarán Cuffe

Question:

520 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the provision he intends to make for persons who may become stateless in the event of the citizenship referendum being passed. [17621/04]

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Written answers

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.

Ciarán Cuffe

Question:

519 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his Department received any request from the UK Government to consider holding a referendum on the issue of citizenship. [17620/04]

View answer

No such request has been received by my Department.

Question No. 520 answered with QuestionNo. 517.
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