Citizenship row – Vote is needed but timing is off

THE latest twist in the referendum row will, if anything, bolster Justice Minister Michael McDowell’s position on what he glibly terms “citizenship tourists”.

It now transpires that 18 months ago a letter was sent by a consultant in a Dublin hospital to Health Minister Mícheál Martin, warning of organised trafficking in pregnant Nigerian mothers seeking Irish passports for their babies.

Apparently, for €7,500, they could be provided with advice on how to access Ireland’s health service and secure passports for their newborn babies.