Greens push for debate on citizenship vote

THE Government is rushing through the citizenship referendum without informed debate, the Green Party claimed yesterday.

Ministers are breaching agreed guidelines by the all-party committee on the Constitution and are undermining the Good Friday Agreement in holding the referendum, the party said.

“I don’t think it is a democratic way to deal with our Constitution,” Green Party TD Ciaran Cuffe said.

The party called on the Government to postpone the referendum for the moment, as it launched its “10 reasons to vote no” campaign for June 11.

“If we see a dramatic and sustained increase in the number of people coming to Ireland to seek Irish citizenship, then I feel we should consider changing the legislation or the Constitution,” Mr Cuffe added.

“But I have yet to see a dramatic or sustained increase in the number of people. Before that, I think we need a debate about citizenship.”

The party said Justice Minister Michael McDowell has relied on anecdotal evidence to support claims about pregnant women coming to Ireland to abuse citizenship laws.

People will vote on June 11 on whether to amend the Constitution to stop children of non-nationals born in Ireland automatically qualifying for Irish citizenship.

Patricia McKenna, MEP for Dublin, said with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and senior legal personnel questioning the referendum, people are beginning to consider it.

The party said it was heartened that yesterday’s Irish Examiner/Prime Time poll showed only 44% of voters in the European election South constituency in favour of the amendment.

Mr Cuffe said: “I suspect it will be close. I am heartened there seems to be a lively discussion in a relatively short period of time.”

On whether the Government’s bid to change the Constitution will fail, Mr Cuffe added: “I wouldn’t be confident.”

The party said the Government is using the Chen case to defend their decision to hold the citizenship referendum, which is being held the same day as the local elections.

“It is clear that the referendum should not take place until the European Court of Justice has made a final ruling and all the implications have been fully explored,” Ms McKenna said.

Earlier this week, the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice said Chinese woman Man Levette Chen should be allowed to remain in Britain, on the basis that her child was born in Belfast and entitled to Irish and therefore EU citizenship.

The Greens argued yesterday that the decision was not final and the referendum should not take place until the European Court of Justice has made its definitive ruling.

As the party launched its campaign on the United Nations Day for Cultural Diversity, they said there had been no consultation with opposition parties or with the Human Rights Commission.

They also said there are no firm statistics to prove women are travelling hereto give birth in an attempt to gain citizenship.

“I suspect some are, but we have to get to see meaningful statistics on the issue,” Mr Cuffe added.

“I’m not convinced that a number of foreign women coming to Ireland to give birth is a bad thing.”

The party said the pressures placed on our maternity hospitals are not from the numbers of non-nationals giving birth.

They said it is from the cutbacks in maternity beds during the 1980s, combined with the rise in population.

The campaign points also to the referendum creating a second-class citizenship for some children born in Ireland and creating an Ireland which is no longer the island of welcomes.