Tipperary TD critical of new Irish citizenship rules

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said new rules for people seeking Irish citizenship, including a language test in English or Irish, will help bring Ireland in line with other European countries.

Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan is to bring forward plans to the Cabinet this week for an overhaul of Ireland's naturalisation system.

This will include a stipulation that people seeking Irish citizenship would have to be resident in the country for eight years - an increase on the current five.

Aspiring citizens will also have to undertake a language test and prove that they are economically self-sufficient.

North Tipperary TD and Labour’s Justice spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD, has called on Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan to drop the plans to increase the residency requirement for Irish citizenship from five to eight years, describing the proposal as performative politics that will do little to improve Ireland’s immigration system.

“Minister O’Callaghan needs to explain what problem an eight-year residency requirement is actually designed to solve,” Deputy Kelly said.

“Increasing the wait for citizenship from five years to eight years looks far more like an exercise in political positioning than a serious attempt to improve our immigration system.

“People who have lived here for years, who work here, pay taxes here, raise their families here and contribute to their communities should have a clear and reasonable pathway to becoming Irish citizens.

“Citizenship is an important part of successful integration. This could have a real negative impact on our ability as a nation to attract workers in critical areas.

“We in Labour have no difficulty with reasonable language or civic requirements. In our manifesto, we supported providing free English and Irish language, civics and cultural courses to migrants as part of a proper national integration strategy.

“Minister O’Callaghan should drop the arbitrary eight-year proposal and focus instead on building a citizenship system that encourages integration, participation and a genuine sense of belonging.

“Ireland needs serious immigration policy, not performative politics,” Deputy Kelly said.