'Citizen tourist' row hots up over birth figure claims

THE row over 'citizen tourists' arriving into Ireland late in pregnancy erupted into fresh controversy yesterday after figures indicated their number may be lower than previously suggested by Government.

Statistics compiled by two of Dublin's largest maternity hospitals show so-called citizen tourists accounted for only 432 of the more than 3,649 births to non-nationals.

These figures related to non-EU nationals who booked into the hospitals within 10 days of giving birth, or who arrived to the hospital in labour.

These figures broke down into 269 births in the Rotunda Hospital and 163 births in the National Maternity Hospital. A specific breakdown for this category was not available for the Coombe Hospital.

In prolonged and heated exchanges in the Dáil yesterday, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern also strongly dismissed the allegation that it was a racist referendum as a "slur on the Irish people".

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte claimed, that in one Dublin hospital, citizen tourism accounted for only three births a week.

"Even if we assume that every one of them was here to try to secure citizenship for their child, is it for this we are being asked to change the Constitution?" he said.

Data unveiled by Justice Minister Michael McDowell in the Dáil yesterday showed births to non-national mothers amounted to 5,471 in Dublin hospitals, or almost 24% of total births. 4,424 came from non-EU countries.

Mr McDowell strongly argued the need for the referendum, saying a disproportionate amount of non-national mothers were giving birth in Dublin hospitals, with a significant number arriving at late and very late stages of pregnancy.

Figures obtained by the Irish Examiner show births to non-national mothers in Limerick were at 8% while in the Southern Health board area of Cork and Kerry, non-national births represented 17%.