Citizenship referendum ‘outrageous insult to Irish citizens’

THE Government’s citizenship referendum is an outrageous insult to the citizens of Ireland, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has claimed.

ICCL director Aisling Reidy said people “should be insulted that politicians who refuse to produce the real facts around this issue, are using the Constitution, the people’s document, as a plaything.”

The Government decided this week to push ahead with the referendum in tandem with local and European elections on June 11. Opposition parties and human rights groups have expressed widespread concern, accusing the Government of using a cynical ploy by playing the race card in the forthcoming elections.

Although few disagree with the proposed constitutional amendment itself, there is mounting anger that the referendum is being rushed through so quickly. The wording of the amendment and the supporting legislation was published on Thursday, while just two non-voting days have been allocated next week for debating the issue.

If the referendum is passed, at least one parent of a child born here must be resident in Ireland for three years in order for the child to qualify for Irish citizenship.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell has repeatedly rejected any suggestion that vote-gathering is behind the decision when to hold the referendum. He denied that eight weeks is not enough time for a public debate on the issue.

Last night, the ICCL accused the Government of deliberately misleading the public. “We already know the minister tried to claim that this referendum was called for by the masters of the maternity hospitals and that was not true.

“The reality is that the Government has failed to put in place an immigration policy and this is a way of deflecting attention from that fact,” said Ms Reidy.

“The Government has an Immigration and Residence Bill that it consulted on three years ago, that is now shelved. Constitutional referendums should not be used to cover up the failings of politicians, and the Irish people should not want their Constitution abused in that way,” she added.

Ms Reidy said that more than 40 other countries allowed citizenship based on birth alone, including the US, Canada, New Zealand, India, most of Latin America and the Caribbean.