Enough of the waffle and whinging bring on the citizenship debate

THANKFULLY, some of the contributions to this week's Dáil debate on the citizenship referendum have finally begun to focus on the content of the proposal itself and moved on from the wrangle we had to endure about process.

One bizarre notion, which was taken a little too seriously in some quarters last week, was the suggestion that immigration is so sensitive an issue that it can't be discussed simultaneously with an election campaign.

This is clearly an absurd notion. Election campaigns are, of course, times of more intense debate but they can also provide the opportunity for a detailed consideration of even the most sensitive of issues.