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Legislative Programme.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 October 2004

Wednesday, 6 October 2004

Questions (149)

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

267 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason a Bill has been published providing for amendment to the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts 1956 to 2001, thereby extending to five statutes the contents of which could have been accommodated in one text. [23635/04]

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Written answers

The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004 aims, as did, for instance, the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts of 1986 and 1994, to amend and not repeal the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956. The current Bill has been developed, like earlier amending Acts, in accordance with the standard norms for such amending legislation.

In April last, as part of the document setting out the Government's proposals in the context of the new proposed constitutional referendum, the Government included an informal restatement of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts 1956 to 2001, incorporating in a single text the proposed legislative amendments, in order to provide clarity and transparency and to inform debate at that time. The Bill at present before this House is substantially the same as the draft published in April.

In accordance with my practice in respect of a number of recent legislative proposals amending existing codes of legislation, for instance, the amendments proposed in the Immigration Bill 2002 — now the Immigration Act 2003 — to the Refugee Act 1996; the amendments to equality legislation to be made by the Bill for the Equality Act 2004, it is my intention to make available shortly to Deputies and on my Department's website a version of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts as the current Bill would amend them.

When this Bill is enacted, I will arrange for an informal restatement of the consolidated texts of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts 1956 to 2004 to be posted on the website of my Department, as a precursor to their formal restatement in accordance with the Statute Law (Restatement) Act 2002. In this way, a single statutory text will be made available for use by the public, legislators and practitioners in the manner envisaged by the Statute Law (Restatement) Act 2002.

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