McDonald: Language competency on citizenship test a 'reasonable measure'

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald broadly welcomed Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan's proposed reforms of the citizenship process in an interview with RTÉ's Morning Ireland. Picture: Zoe Linkson

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the party was “open to reviewing pathways” to Irish citizenship following proposed reforms by Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan that would toughen the citizenship process.

One of the proposed reforms includes a requirement to demonstrate competency in Irish, English or Irish Sign Language, measures which Ms McDonald said are “reasonable.” 

“We have argued for systems that are fair, that are effective, that are resourced systems that are responsive to community needs, and a system that is always and ever vigorously and avowedly anti-racist,” she said to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.

Speaking on wider State immigration policy, Ms McDonald said the State has been “unreasonable” in handling International Protection accommodation, and said IPAS centres were being placed in “bereft and struggling” communities.

“What we have advocated is a fair and reasonable assessment of what exists in a community. I don't understand why that's controversial,” Ms McDonald said.

“The number of people running these IPAS centres have made a whole lot of money. A small number of people have gotten very, very rich on the back of all of this.”

Former party adviser, Siobhán Fenton, has described Sinn Féin’s immigration policy as lacking coherence in an upcoming memoir.

Ms McDonald said the party had lost touch with grassroots opinion, but was now advocating for a sterner “respectful” rulebook on immigration.

Speaking to RTÉ during Sinn Féin’s party think-in in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, she said there had been no formal negotiations about forming a united left-wing alliance between other opposition parties.

“We deal with the politics in the here and now,” she said.

“All of that political cooperation has to be developed and has to evolve… we will go into the next election individually on our own platforms and in our own right.

“I believe that there is still an appetite and the potential and the necessity for government beyond Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

“I think it's in our collective interest, and more importantly in Ireland’s interest to make that (a united left front) a real possibility and a real alternative option for when the election occurs.”

Speaking ahead of October's Government budget, Ms McDonald advocated for measures that would see the first €40,000 of income removed from the levying of the Universal Social Charge.

The measure has been costed at €1.5b to implement, with McDonald positing €300m could be clawed back by forcing large-scale real-estate developers to pay corporation tax on rental profits.

“They're very large, very expensive rental units held by these corporate landlords, and we think it is absolutely scandalous that the rent roll accruing from those extortionate rents does not attract corporate tax," she said.