The electorate has spoken, and has overwhelmingly endorsed the Government's proposal to amend the Constitution with regard to citizenship.
This decision must be accepted, and it now falls to the Government to implement a Bill to put flesh on the bones of the new citizenship regime. Such a draft Bill has been published and must be adhered to since it was part of the referendum process.
Beyond that, the consultation process which should have taken place before the referendum has now begun.This is to be welcomed, but it is not enough. It is now time to tackle a number of issues relating to immigration into this country, and the position of people who have already sought refuge or work here.
One of the first priorities must be to address the situation of the 11,000 families of children born to non-national parents. Many people in the asylum process were advised by lawyers to opt out of it and seek residency on the basis of their parentage of Irish children, only to see this possibility swept away by the L and O Supreme Court judgment. They are now in a legal limbo, but most have lived here for a number of years and often their children know nothing else. Their situation must be regularised as a matter of urgency.
Another large group is that of migrant workers who have come here on work permits. These are issued to employers and are of limited duration. There is widespread evidence of abuse of this system, with the workers often paid below the minimum wage and suffering abusive treatment by employers. The existing system means they have extreme difficulty in changing employer, and are often afraid to complain for fear of losing the right to be here. The work permit system must be reformed to allow migrant workers to change employer, to seek alternative employment if they lose their jobs through no fault of their own, and to ensure they are fully protected by employment legislation. The basis on which they are allowed bring their families here must also be clear and transparent, and interpreted generously.
Given that children are no longer entitled to citizenship at birth, the whole naturalisation process needs to be examined and rendered more transparent. Under the 1956 Act, citizenship is granted at the absolute discretion of the Minister. While it is arguable that the Minister should have a veto on citizenship, especially to ensure that naturalisation is not sought by people seeking to use Irish citizenship for criminal purposes, the basis on which naturalisation is refused should be open and transparent and subject to review.
If these issues are tackled quickly, the Government can send a message that immigrants are truly welcome here, and that discrimination and racism will not be tolerated.