Rushed legislation risks leaving us with 'second-class' citizens

Rushed amendments hold naturalised citizens to a higher standard of ‘fidelity’ to the State, but without explaining why

People attending their Irish citizenship ceremony in the convention centre last month. The Government rushed through amendments to the process for revoking Irish citizenship of naturalised citizens, and the issues with these changes are both of form and substance. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos.

I am a proud Cork woman and Irish citizen, albeit one that was born somewhere else and chose Cork as her home. 

I became an Irish citizen in a ceremony in March, 2020 — just before all our lives were turned upside down by the pandemic. At the citizenship ceremony, Justice Bryan MacMahon made a point to say that there were no second-class citizens in Ireland, but a Bill that is going through the Oireachtas makes me question this.