The citizenship referendum – time to make up your mind
2.1 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution, a person born in the island of Ireland, which includes its islands and seas, who does not have, at the time of the birth of that person, at least one parent who is an Irish citizen or entitled to be an Irish citizen, is not entitled to Irish citizenship or nationality, unless otherwise provided for by law.
2. This section shall not apply to persons born before the date of the enactment of this section.
To protect the integrity of Ireland's citizenship laws from abuse.
The current regime, whereby citizenship is granted automatically on birth, is being abused by non-nationals and asylum seekers.
Justice Minister Michael McDowell said figures from the Dublin maternity hospitals showed that 25% of births in 2003 were to non-nationals and that 80% of these were from outside the EU. The figures also indicated that between 36% and 52% of women arriving unbooked or within 10 days of delivery were non-nationals.
Ireland is the only country in the expanded 25-member EU that provides an automatic right to citizenship based on birth. Ireland is being used as a backdoor into Europe, as Irish citizenship also gives EU citizenship.
The Government said the problem is highlighted in the Chen case, which is being ruled on in the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Ms Chen, a Chinese mother is claiming she and her Belfast-born daughter have a right to reside in any EU state on the basis of Irish citizenship law and EU free movement rights.
In a preliminary ruling, the Advocate General of the ECJ said Ms Chen and her child should have this right as long as they didn't become a burden on the state. The Government says, if Ms Chen wins her case, this would create an emergency for Ireland, as migrants would come here to enter the EU.
The Belfast Agreement of 1998 enshrined in the Constitution the right to citizenship for anyone born on the island. The Government says this had the unforeseen and unintended effect of the subsequent abuse of the system by non-nationals with no connection with the country.
Prior to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 the Oireachtas legislated on citizenship. The Government says the referendum will restore that power.
The Government says the rights of all children citizens and non-citizens will be equally protected under the European Convention of Human Rights, adopted into Irish law this year.
Campaigners say the Minister for Justice has failed adequately to consult opposition parties and relevant outside bodies prior to proposing a referendum which would fundamentally change the Constitution.
They say there has been no Green Paper, no discussion by the All-Party Committee on the Constitution and inadequate consultation with experts. Campaigners say the government is breaching the integrity of the process of amending the Constitution.
They point out that the public is totally confused. A survey by the independent Referendum Commission showed 70% of people did not understand what they were voting on, 40% of whom did not even know what the general topic was.
No campaigners have disputed the accuracy of statistics provided by the Department of Justice and the three Dublin maternity hospitals regarding the alleged abuse of citizenship laws by non-nationals.
They claim that, at most, there were 548 late arrivals involving non-nationals in the Dublin maternity hospitals in 2003, representing 0.024% of all births.
They point out that in many cultures there was no tradition of pre-natal care and that many migrants were not familiar with the health care system.
They say there is a greater proportion of women of child-bearing age among non-nationals. They add that the number of people here legally on work permits has risen by 760% since 2003.
Groups, including the Human Rights Commission, say the proposal will create a category of non-citizens, who are likely to be subject to a lower level of protection of rights than citizen children. This difference in treatment could constitute unlawful discrimination under international law.
The Government has not conducted a child impact review on the implications of the referendum, contrary to its own National Children's Strategy.
Campaigners point out that neither the European Commission nor any other EU member state has raised the issue of Ireland's citizenship laws with the Government, even with the Chen case. They say most migrants will not use Ireland as a backdoor to EU, if Ms Chen wins her case.
They point out her case will only have relevance in situations where it could be demonstrated that the child will not be an economic burden on the State.
Campaigners say that 94.4% of people voted for the Good Friday Agreement and the integrity of that mandate should be protected. They say the Government should not be able to unilaterally change it without consultation with all parties involved in the agreement.
Campaigners say hundreds of thousands of Irish emigrants have benefited from America's citizenship-by-birth laws, yet we seek to deny that privilege to people coming here.
It will remove a constitutional guarantee that all persons born on this island are entitled to be Irish citizens. This guarantee was inserted as part of the new Article 2 of the Constitution following the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
If passed only those with an Irish citizen parent will have a constitutional right to citizenship.
The Oireachtas will be able to pass legislation governing how other people born in Ireland may become citizens. The Government proposal is that citizenship is only available to children born of two non-national parents if one of the parents has lived here for three years before the birth.
The present Constitutional regime will continue to apply.
This states that all persons who are born on the island of Ireland are automatically entitled to citizenship as a constitutional right.
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