Commission calls for Oireachtas to give appropriate time to consider important amendment
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (‘the Commission’) has today written to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee for a second time to express significant concerns about the unacceptable haste in which the Government intends to amend legislation allowing for the revocation of naturalized Irish citizenship. This places a severe limit on the time available for appropriate pre-legislative scrutiny of the proposed amending legislation to ensure that constitutionally compliant safeguards are built into it. The Commission understands that it is intended that the Court, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 (“the Bill”), which is before the Dáil today, will amend the relevant provisions of Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956 dealing with the revocation of citizenship. The relevant proposed amendments were published yesterday, 9 July 2024, for insertion at Committee Stage. We believe it is the government’s intention to pass the new law on revocation of naturalised citizenship by the end of next week. The Commission is deeply concerned at the lack of adequate time and opportunity for appropriate scrutiny of legislative provisions of this significance and importance. From a preliminary review of the draft provisions that we received yesterday, we are concerned that the current Bill does not provide the procedural safeguards required to meet the high standards of natural justice necessary to a person facing the severe consequences described by the Supreme Court in Damache v Minister for Justice. Issues of concern include:
- The ongoing lack of clarity on the appropriate threshold for the Minister to initiate a revocation process, and concerns that this legislation could facilitate the use of revocation in circumstances where it is not warranted relative to the actions of the individual in question;
- Unnecessarily short and unreasonable timeframes for a naturalised citizen facing revocation of citizenship to engage in the process – e.g. proposed section 19(1F);
- The level of independence afforded to the Committee of Inquiry – e.g. the control that the Minister has in establishing and filling positions on a Committee of Inquiry; in prescribing the procedures of such a committee, including the circumstances in which an oral hearing can be heard; and,
- The extent to which procedural safeguards can be circumscribed when issues of national security are raised – e.g. the exception to the requirement to give reasons under proposed s.19(10).
The Bill gives the Minister wide scope to determine how the revocation mechanism will function in practice. We are concerned that, without proper pre-legislative scrutiny and appropriate amendments, its effect will be to subject people to whom s.19 of the 1956 Act applies to a process that is at once overly demanding and opaque. In the Damache ruling of February 2021, Ms. Justice Dunne of the Supreme Court found that “high standards of natural justice” must apply to the revocation of certificates of naturalisation. The Supreme Court held that any process by which naturalisation could be revoked would have to comply with fair procedures and contain adequate safeguards for persons who are the subject of revocations. Regrettably, it is not immediately clear that the Bill as drafted attains to the high standards of natural justice envisaged by the Supreme Court in Damache. Irish Human Rights and Equality Director Deirdre Malone said,
“We are asking that the Minister remove from the Bill the provisions that provide for the amendment of s19 of the 1956 Act, to allow the usual appropriate time for their pre-legislative scrutiny. This would help to ensure that they are enacted in a manner that is compliant with the requirements of natural justice. The Commission does not wish to delay the introduction of appropriate legislation in this area. Indeed, as per previous correspondence, the Commission welcomes the introduction of legislation to address the Supreme Court’s findings in Damache. The necessary provisions could be included in another Bill in the autumn, afforded adequate time for consideration by the Oireachtas, and enacted before the end of 2024.”
ENDS/ For further information, please contact: Sarah Clarkin IHREC Communications Manager, 01 8592641 / 087 4687760 sarah.clarkin@ihrec.ie Follow us on twitter @_IHREC You can read the letter from the Commission to the Minister for Justice by following this link: 20240710_Letter_MinisterofJustice_Final.pdf (ihrec.ie)
Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is an independent public body, appointed by the President and directly accountable to the Oireachtas. The Commission has a statutory remit set out under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (2014) to protect and promote human rights and equality in Ireland, and build a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding in the State. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is Ireland’s national human rights institution and is recognised as such by the United Nations. The Commission is also Ireland’s national equality body for the purpose of a range of EU anti-discrimination measures.