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Debate resumed on amendment No. 27: In page 11, lines 21 and 22, to delete all words from and including “a” in line 21 down to and including “if” in line 22 and substitute the following:
“, reference to Irish associations shall not include the making of an investment in Ireland but shall include circumstances where a person meets one of the following criteria”.
— (Deputy Costello). Mr. Costello:   It is a pleasure to see the Minister in the House to take the debate. We had a + Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell): It is nice to know the Deputy missed me. Mr. Costello: As the expression goes “Like a hole in the head”. Amendments Nos. ++++ Mr. J. O’Keeffe: It is very useful to have this debate. I compliment Deputy Costello on tabling +++++++ Mr. McDowell: With regard to the Deputy’s final remark, it is not within my gift as to + Mr. J. O’Keeffe: We will consider his application. Mr. McDowell: It may not be in the Deputy’s gift either. Mr. Costello: Perhaps the Minister will join a rainbow Government. Mr. McDowell: All of these matters must be viewed in their statutory context. Part III of the + Mr. Costello: Which is subjective? Mr. McDowell: I distinguish between whim and discretion. Nearly every country of our kind vests a discretion in the executive on these matters and does not grant people who are not citizens legal rights against the express wishes of the Government of the day of the naturalising country. As I stated, the criteria for the issuance of a certificate are set out in section 15. They include, for instance, that one must be of full age or, if a minor, have been born in the State. In addition, one must be of good character and have spent a period of one year’s residence in the State immediately before the date of the application and, during the eight years immediately preceding that period, had a total residence in the State of four years. Effectively this condition amounts to the five year rule. A further condition is that one must intend in good faith to continue to reside in the State after naturalisation. Deputies would be surprised by the number of applications for naturalisation I receive which were written in England by persons who make clear in their application that they have no intention of residing here. A further condition is that the applicant has made, “either before a Justice of the District Court in open court or in such manner as the Minister, for special reasons, allows, a declaration in the prescribed manner, of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State.” This final condition derives directly from the terms of the Constitution, which states that fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State are fundamental duties of a citizen. These criteria are termed the conditions for naturalisation. Section 15A, which was inserted in the Act, deals with naturalisation of spouses of Irish citizens and lays downs a set of criteria. Section 16 is a power to dispense with conditions of naturalisation in certain cases. It provides that the Minister, at his discretion, may grant an application for a certificate of naturalisation in a specified set of cases when a condition or conditions for naturalisation are not complied with. The first such case is “where the applicant is of Irish descent...” People of Irish descent are, as a matter of law, already entitled to have the conditions set out in section 15 relaxed in their case. That has been the law since 1956. An application may also be granted where the applicant is of “Irish associations”. The question arose as to what was the meaning of this term. It was always open to a person of Irish descent to apply for citizenship, even though he or she did not comply with the conditions set out in section 15. In 1956 this right related to descent was extended to cover “Irish associations”. Under the passports for sale scheme, citizenship was effectively granted to people who had no connection with this country, except that they were making an investment in an Irish company. Section 16 sets out a number of other cases in which the Minister may waive some or all of the conditions of naturalisation. In response to Senator Quinn’s Private Members’ Bill in the Seanad which sought by statute to bring an end to the passports for investment scheme, I undertook to narrow the meaning of “Irish associations” to exclude people who had no connection with the Irish State from being granted citizenship on the basis of simple investment. It is proposed to clarify that in section 10(2), which states: For the purposes of this section a person is of Irish associations if:
(a) he or she is related by blood, affinity or adoption to a person who is an Irish citizen or entitled to be an Irish citizen, or
(b) he or she was related by blood, affinity or adoption to a person who is deceased and who, at the time of his or her death, was an Irish citizen or entitled to be an Irish citizen.
The question has been asked, what is the distinction between blood and affinity. My good friend and former colleague at the practising bar, Mr. Henry Murdoch, has a legal dictionary which I recommend to anyone who can take a recommendation. He defines affinity as relationship by marriage, the relationship between a husband and his wife’s blood relations and between a wife and her husband’s blood relations. He goes on to state that there is no affinity between a person and the relations by marriage of his or her spouse. That is what affinity means.  6 o’clockLet us remember that “descent” means being descended from an Irish citizen, or rather an Irish person, a person who was born in Ireland or was Irish at some stage in their life. “Affinity” means relationship by marriage and is a broader concept than a blood relationship. There is adoption where people can be related who have no blood or affinity type relationship, but are deemed by process of law to be the child of another. They are, therefore, entitled to citizenship by virtue of adoption. Section 12 of the 1956 Act allows the President, acting on the advice of the Executive, to grant Irish citizenship as a token of honour to a person, or to the child or grandchild of a person, who, in the opinion of the Government, has done signal honour or rendered distinguished service to the nation. It is worthwhile remembering that those people are not honorary citizens in the sense that one is an honorary member of a golf club or an honorary bencher of King's Inns, which is not the real thing. These people are citizens in the real sense, but it is given to them as a token of honour. This is done on the basis that our Constitution does not permit titles of honour or nobility to be conferred on any person by the State, but we can confer citizenship as an honour on a person if that person has done signal honour or rendered distinguished service to the nation. Citizenship could be granted for service to the Irish nation outside Ireland. For example, if one worked among Irish emigrants in Australia or if one enfranchised or emancipated Irish people in some country abroad, that would entitle the State to grant citizenship to such a person. We had an interesting Committee Stage discussion on this and I referred to a few people who were granted honorary citizenship. Sir Alfred Chester Beatty, of the Chester Beatty Library, was granted citizenship in 1957 under section 12 of the Act. Mr. Tip O’Neill, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, was granted citizenship in 1986, as was his wife. Dr. Tiede Herrema and his wife were granted citizenship in 1975. Sir Alfred and Lady Clementine Beit were granted citizenship under this section in 1993. Jack Charlton and his wife were granted citizenship in 1996. Jean Kennedy Smith was granted citizenship in 1998 and Mr. Derek Hill, the celebrated artist, was granted citizenship in 1999. There is, therefore, a provision in Irish law for honouring people who do acts which are of huge service to the Irish nation. Benefactors to the Irish people at home and abroad have been honoured in this way. They are not merely people who have donated money or assets for the public use. Dr. Herrema was granted citizenship in very different circumstances, as recognition for the wrong that was done to him and for his courage and his positive attitude to Ireland notwithstanding the terrible wrong that was done to him in the 1970s. Jack Charlton and his spouse were granted citizenship, not for money spent in Ireland, but for their commitment to the sporting success of this country. Jean Kennedy Smith was granted citizenship because of her service to the cause of peace in Ireland and to the Irish American interest. It is not the case that there is nothing that can be done in the Bill under the Irish associations, as it is proposed to amend it, for people who do such things. On the contrary, there is clear evidence from the actual use of section 12 that the State is in a position to recognise people who have done great things for Ireland and for the Irish, wherever they may be, by granting citizenship to them as a token of honour. I am happy with the proposal that it should be by blood affinity or adoption because one can be a blood relative without being descended from an Irish person. If one’s brother becomes an Irish citizen by naturalisation, one is therefore entitled to be considered of Irish association. If one is the spouse of someone who was granted Irish citizenship, or descended from a spouse or whatever, that is not a blood relationship but it is affinity. I agree with Deputy O’Keeffe that the definition is broad, but by the same token, it is specific. Irish association means that one has some tangible connection, either as a matter of history or as a matter of fact, with someone who is an Irish citizen, or would be an Irish citizen if he or she was alive. The terms of the new subsection (2) intend to be a broad net. Deputy Costello wants to make it more specific. I thought there was consensus on Committee Stage that we wanted some latitude but that we also wanted some definition. I do not believe that the ministerial discretion referred to is particularly broad. It is not as broad as the presidential recognition provided for under section 12 of the 1956 Act. It is narrowed to people who have some connection with the State. It excludes granting of citizenship for bare investment in Ireland. That is not to say that somebody who comes here to establish a second Guinness brewery might not be of Irish descent. Such a person might merit the waiver of some of the conditions of section 15 of the 1956 Act on that account. We do not suggest that that is the case. The bare investment in Ireland should not confer on anyone the right to be a citizen. I have met the points made by Senator Quinn during the Seanad debate fairly and squarely. I have broadened this section as far as I should, whereas Deputy Costello’s amendments would narrow it too much. When taken with section 12 of the 1956 Act, the Bill is reasonable in its present form. It is not likely to be the subject of abuse or to bring the granting of citizenship into disrepute, as it has been contended that it has been in the past. I do not propose to accept Deputy Costello’s three amendments for those reasons. Deputy Jim O’Keeffe argued that there were delays in the granting of citizenship. Mr. J. O’Keeffe: There have been delays of two years. It is dreadful. Mr. McDowell: I agree with the Deputy that the delays in question are unfortunate. There were ++ Mr. J. O’Keeffe: It will probably be the Minister’s last chance. Mr. McDowell: All these things will happen in the next year, if the Deputy will tolerate my + Mr. J. O’Keeffe: We will give the Minister another year. Mr. McDowell: I am confident that a different picture will emerge as a result. The Department ++ Mr. J. O’Keeffe: Full marks. Mr. McDowell: We have to appreciate that there will always be delays in this regard. It will + Mr. Costello: My amendments do not relate to the cases of those who have applied for +++ An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The Deputy is limited to a two minute contribution. He will have an opportunity + Mr. Costello: If the Minister means a relationship by marriage, why not say so rather than + Mr. J. O’Keeffe: I wish to touch on four issues in the brief time available to me. The first ++++ Mr. McDowell: Wolfe Tone, Charles Stewart Parnell, Henry Grattan, Patrick Sarsfield and ++++ Mr. Costello: I do not disbelieve the Minister. Am I right in saying that of the 11,943 cases + Mr. McDowell: I am not allowed to reply. Mr. Costello: Am I right in saying there were 428 non-national brothers and sisters living + Mr. McDowell: I did not say that. Mr. Costello: Perhaps it was the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and + Mr. J. O’Keeffe: He was speeding through legislation at the time. Mr. Costello: The figures may have been a touch exaggerated.+ Question put: “That the words proposed to be deleted stand,” put and declared carried. Amendment declared lost. Mr. Costello: I move amendment No. 28:++ Amendment put and declared lost. Mr. Costello: I move amendment No. 29:++ Amendment put and declared lost. Mr. J. O’Keeffe: I move amendment No. 30:+++++++++ ++ Mr. Costello: I agree fully with the wording of the amendment proposed by Deputy Jim ++++ Mr. McDowell: The effect of Deputy Jim O’Keeffe’s amendment would be to oblige me + Mr. J. O’Keeffe: While I stand to be corrected, I see the Minister and I are in agreement on + Mr. McDowell: If I were to produce a report to the House within three months as requested, I +++++ Mr. Costello: Of course the Minister could. Mr. McDowell: I have absolute confidence in the Moriarty tribunal to visit this issue and to +++++ Mr. Costello: |