The forthcoming referendum on Irish citizenship could lead to a rowing back of human rights provisions, the head of the Irish Human Rights Commission claimed today.
Dr Maurice Manning said he would be meeting his counterparts in the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission in the next few weeks to consider the impact of the issue on the Belfast Agreement.
The ratification of the Belfast Agreement in 1998 meant anyone born on the island of Ireland was entitled to Irish citizenship.However, the Government moved to restrict that entitlement amid concerns that some non-nationals are having babies in the country to bypass asylum regulations.
The Government has published the proposed legislation restricting the right to citizenship of children born in Ireland to non-national parents unless at least one of them has lived in the country for at least three of the previous four years. The referendum will be held on June 11th.
A number of Northern Ireland parties have expressed concerns that the referendum is capable of overruling the Belfast Agreement.
Dr Manning said he believed the Minister for Justice, Mr Michael McDowell should have consulted with the human rights body before publishing the legislation. "One of the concerns we expressed to the minister was that we would have preferred to have seen this whole process in slower motion, that there was time for greater consultation," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
Dr Manning said the commission had not yet reached a decision on whether the proposed legislation breached the Belfast Agreement. "But we are concerned in a general way that this could mean a rowing back of human rights," he said. "If there are rights there, which are going to be taken away from certain categories of people, that could be a rowing back of human rights."
Dr Manning said there were concerns the referendum could spark racism. "It's an area where we talked to the various groups who are involved in issues around racism," he said.
The Dáil will be recalled on April 21th, a week early from its Easter break, to debate the referendum, which will be held alongside the European and local elections on June 11th.