One of the four doctors cited as requesting action by the Minister for Justice on births to non-nationals expressed concern last night that he and his colleagues have been blamed for the decision to hold a referendum.Dr Seán Daly, Master of the Coombe Hospital, Dublin, asked: "Are we the scapegoats?"
He said a lack of resources should not be used to bring about a referendum and if there were women arriving at the Coombe to deliver, the hospital should be able to provide the best level of care possible.
Dr Michael Geary, Master of the Rotunda, said that while he agreed with Dr Daly, he felt the case of women travelling to Ireland late in their pregnancies "is unsafe", adding that some women were arriving to "have their baby in this country with a view to having citizenship".
"Some 15 per cent of our immigrant population [arriving in hospital] turn up in labour for the first time," Dr Geary said. It was his job to provide the information and facts but policy-making was an issue for Mr McDowell.
The decision to hold a referendum to have citizenship rights decided in law has been described as inevitable by some refugee organisations.
The Irish Refugee Council said it was aware Mr McDowell "had plans to make changes. . .but it is up to the people in general to decide on what is appropriate for citizenship."
Mr Peter O'Mahony, chief executive of the council, said that if the referendum is held on June 11th there would be very little time for comprehensive reasoned debate, which, he added, might be a deliberate tactic by the Government.
The Immigrant Council of Ireland said it was too early to comment because of the complex legal issues surrounding yesterday's announcement.
However, the Coalition Against the Deportation of Irish Children said it was "dumbfounded" by the announcement. Ms Ronita Lennon said of the 25 per cent of non-national women giving birth in Irish hospitals only 5 per cent were Nigerian.
Dr Jean-Pierre Eyanga, project director, Integrating Ireland, said Mr McDowell's decision was "going to the extreme". It was "encouraging Ireland to exclude" when we should be "integrating people to become part of the nation".
The Immigration Control Platform welcomed the referendum, but said it would be "no panacea".