SWP: Citizenship Bill has 'amazing contradictions'

The Socialist Workers Party are to launch its campaign for a ‘No’ vote in the citizenship referendum today.

The party commissioned UCD sociologist Kieran Allen to produce a booklet on the subject.

The booklet which is entitled 'Citizenship and Racism -The Case against McDowell's Referendum' argues against many of the arguments made for the referendum.

Kieran Allen said: “Migrants have not created a crisis in our maternity hospitals - rather our hospitals would not run without migrants.

“It is typical of Justice Minister Michael McDowell that he continually presents an image of immigrants as people who will take something from us. He rarely acknowledges their huge contribution to Irish society.

“The Irish constitution has one fundamentally democratic article - it defines citizenship as an accident of birth. Implicitly it acknowledges the fundamental equality between people.

“McDowell wants to overturn this and substitute a mystical bloodline definition of citizenship.

“But his Implementing Bill is shot through with some amazing contradictions.

“If a child is born in Ireland through a father who comes from Barnsley in Britain - and has had no connection with Ireland - that child will get an Irish passport. But the mother may have to go through a painful procedure to get this father to acknowledge parenthood and possibly provide a DNA test.

“But if the child is born to immigrants who contribute to Irish society, they will be deprived of citizenship rights simply because they do not meet absurdly high criteria.

"We should Vote no to this deeply offensive measure”