Senator David Norris has denied abusing his position by intervening in a citizenship application by his former partner, saying that anything he did in the case was “out in the open”.
Mr Norris made a speech in the Seanad in 2007 asking why Algerian-born Tevfik Akin had been denied naturalisation.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Kilkenny city today, Mr Norris said he could not see how it would be seen as an abuse of power. “No, it was absolutely out in the open. I said it,” he said.
During the speech, Mr Norris demanded to know what evidence there was against Mr Akin to lead to his 2006 application for citizenship being refused.
Mr Akin has since been granted Irish citizenship.
Mr Norris said he did not think his involvement in a citizenship case merited such media attention.
“Why didn’t they take it up with some of the other asylum-seekers that I got in? Why didn’t they take up my contribution to the Immigration Bill?” he asked.
“I’ve done hundreds of these, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and I can tell you this: I’m very proud of the ones that got in, made a successful life for themselves. This is a multi-cultural country now, I stand for diversity.”
He said there was little interest among voters in his refusal to publish a number of letters he wrote to an Israeli court seeking clemency for his former partner Ezra Nawi who was convicted of statutory rape.
“People come up and shake my hand to tell me they’re voting for me,” he said, adding that the public wants to move away from the letters issue. “That’s what it looks like to me and I certainly am, I’m moving on to the campaign.”
Meanwhile, the National Library of Ireland said today is would not be opening the David Norris Archive to the public. It was officially donated to the library in December 2007.
One of the conditions of the donation was that the library would not allow access to the collection by readers and other members of the public, without the express permission of Senator Norris, who has granted exclusive access to his archive to those compiling a book on his life,” the library said in a statement. “The library has at all times respected Senator Norris’ wishes in this regard.”