Madam, - Cecilia Keaveney, TD (May 15th) repeats the Government's established justification for proceeding with a referendum to amend Article 9 of the Irish Constitution in relation to citizenship: that "it will close a loophole in our law that has been open to abuse and bring Irish Citizenship law into line with that in other European States".
These arguments are valid, but they are not pertinent to the debate. Anomalies in Irish legislation are plentiful, and there are precious few markers where we can claim to be in line with other European states.
The essential point that Ms Keaveney has failed to address is what the proposed referendum means in terms of our attitude to race, and our position as a progressive society in a world where cultural prejudices have become increasingly hardened.
Ms Keaveny also fails to recognise that European states which have more restrictive citizenship laws have been dealing with the complex issue of race relations for centuries. This is not the case in Ireland, where immigration has become an issue only in the past 10 years. To proceed with the proposed amendment at this time is not only irresponsible, but also lends credence to positions that have been taken on the issue before a more informed debate has taken place. - Yours etc.,
GARRETH McDAID, Kilmore, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Roscommon.
Madam, - Cecilia Keaveney TD (May 15th) accuses the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) of being "extremely misleading" when we stated that the proposed citizenship amendment to the Constitution would reverse the basis of Irish citizenship law which has existed since 1921.
In a debate that has already seen more than its fair share of baseless hyperbole, the ICCL takes the view that voters should know the facts and make up their own minds about who is misleading whom.
On the matter of the basis of Irish citizenship, Article 3 of the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State said that every person born in Ireland was a citizen of the Irish Free State. The 1935 Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act provided that "every person who was born in Saorstát Eireann" was a "natural-born citizen of Saorstát Eireann". This was repealed by the 1956 Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, which stated simply: "Every person born in Ireland is an Irish citizen from birth."
In 1998, over 90 per cent of voters in Ireland endorsed the current text of Article 2 which states: "It is the entitlement and birthright of every person born in the island of Ireland. . .to be part of the Irish Nation". The 2001 Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act updated our statute law to read, "Every person born in the island of Ireland is entitled to be an Irish citizen". However, a new provision was added: "A person born on the island of Ireland is an Irish citizen from birth if he or she does an act which only an Irish citizen is entitled to do."
Therefore, based on fact and law, the right to citizenship in Ireland (just as in 42 other countries around the world) has always been based on birth in the country and not parentage. There has never been a difference made in law between children born to Irish or non-Irish parents. If you are born here, you are a citizen.
Under the Government's proposal, birth in this country will no longer be the deciding factor; rather, the citizenship of child's parents or whatever other criteria any Government of the day chooses. On any analysis, this is undoubtedly a reversal of the law.
Furthermore, the changes to Article 2 of the Constitution were provided for in Annex B of the Multi-Party Agreement (the Good Friday Agreement) and not the British-Irish Agreement to which Ms Keaveney refers. The declaration to which she refers relates to interpretation of Article 1(vi) of the British-Irish Agreement, not the Multi-Party Agreement. Moreover, the parties to the Multi-Party Agreement, with whom the Government did not consult, in that Agreement accepted "that all of the institutional and constitutional arrangements - and any amendments to. . .the Constitution of Ireland - are interlocking and interdependent".
With respect to the intent of the Irish people in 1998, the complete meaning of Article 2 was spelt out to the Irish people by the Referendum Commission before they voted - i.e., that every person born in Ireland would be entitled to be part of the nation.
It is indeed extremely misleading to say, as Ms Keaveney does, that this referendum will bring us into line with other European States or suggest that it is necessary for us to be "in line". There is no common law in Europe on citizenship, or EU competency on the matter, for Ireland to be brought into line with. Ever since Ireland joined the European Community in 1972, our laws have been unique to Ireland and not based on EU membership.
The EU has never suggested we need to change our laws; on the contrary, the 1992 Declaration to the Maastricht Treaty by the governments, including Ireland, gives exclusive competence to member-states in determining nationality.
In 1990 Germany changed its citizenship laws so that approximately 100,000 children born annually in Germany gained the right to German citizenship on the basis of their birth. No issue existed then or now in expanding the pool of those entitled to EU citizenship.
It is important that voters on June 11th do not allow themselves to be deceived into thinking otherwise. - Yours, etc.,
AISLING REIDY, Director, Irish Council for Civil Liberties Dominick Court, Dublin 1.