To suggest that there could potentially be 2,000 people next year-----

Two dozen. Apologies. This is not something that will be applied where I or any other Minister think that somebody is not our kind of person. The reasons a person would have his or her citizenship revoked are clear. The ruling obviously took issue with the safeguards which the court feels are not there at the moment, for the reasons outlined, that, irrespective of whether the committee was established by the Minister, the Minister can disregard the decision that was taken. That is what the ruling found against. The…

It is not, but somebody who sat on the Bench and served as a judge-----

Irrespective of that, the Deputy is talking about a group of people who will not make this decision lightly.

I stress that the Supreme Court did not take issue with the fact that the Minister has the ability and should have the right to revoke citizenship. It is about the manner in which it is done and making sure those extra layers and protections are in place. It is important that we push forward with this amendment and that this safeguard is put in place in response to the ruling. The manner in which it is being done will ensure those extra layers and safeguards are in place and, ultimately, that the Minister still has…

On workload, there are probably 100 pieces of legislation I could bring at any given time, such is the Department of Justice. Some are larger pieces of work, while others are amendments of this kind that come from different rulings. There is no rule as to how certain elements should be put into miscellaneous provisions Bills. Insofar as possible, it is prudent and important that Ministers bring forward Bills of this kind to make sure important changes required are not left behind. Sometimes it takes longer to bring…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 6, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “PART 3 AMENDMENT OF IRISH NATIONALITY AND CITIZENSHIP ACT 1956 Amendment of Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 3. The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 is amended— (a) by the insertion of the following section after section 4: “Service of notices or documents 4A. (1) A notice or other document that is required or authorised by or under this Act (other than section 27) to be served on or given to a person shall be …

I move amendment No. 4: In page 6, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: "PART 4 AMENDMENT OF INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION ACT 2015 Definition ( Part 4 ) 4. In this Part, “Act of 2015” means the International Protection Act 2015.". Amendment No. 4 is a standard provision that provides that the Act of 2015 means the International Protection Act 2015 in this section. I propose to discuss amendments Nos. 5, 7, 8 and 12 together as they follow logically. They all address issues identified by the High Court on t…

I do not have the specific criteria for it with me. There is a very clear process which I can make available to Deputy Howlin. A number of organisations, international and otherwise, need to be consulted. Various elements need to be taken into consideration also. I can make the information available to Deputy Howlin. It is somewhat separate to this, but at the same time, it is all interconnected.

There are two separate things with regard to the safe countries, but I can provide the ways in which they are applied. We now have 15 countries deemed to be safe countries of origin. I hope this legislation will be enacted and the requirements of the High Court ruling met. Then we will need to revisit the question of the UK. However, we do not want to rush into it without engaging with our new counterparts across the water in the UK. It is important that we can return people to a country where we know it is safe fo…

I move amendment No. 5: In page 6, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “Revocation 5. The International Protection Act 2015 (Safe Third Country) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 725 of 2020) is revoked.”.

I move amendment No. 6: In page 6, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 5 of Act of 2015 6. Section 5(2) of the Act of 2015 is amended by the substitution of “subsection (1)(d), a notice or other document” for “subsection (1)(c), a notice”.”.

I move amendment No. 7: In page 6, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 21 of Act of 2015 7. Section 21 of the Act of 2015 is amended— (a) in subsection (16), by the substitution of “subsection (2)(a)” for “this section”, (b) in subsection (17)— (i) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “punishment or a serious and individual threat to his or her life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict,” for “punishment, and”…

I move amendment No. 8: In page 6, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 50A of Act of 2015 8. Section 50A of the Act of 2015 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1): “(1) A person shall not be expelled or returned in any manner whatsoever to the frontier of a territory— (a) where, in the opinion of the Minister— (i) the life or freedom of the person would be threatened for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular soci…

I move amendment No. 9: In page 6, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 51 of Act of 2015 9. Section 51 of the Act of 2015 is amended— (a) in subsection (1), by the substitution of “section 50 and subsection (1A),” for “section 50,” and (b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1): “(1A) (a) Subsection (1) shall not apply in respect of a person who is a member of a class of person that is prescribed under paragraph (b). (b) The Minister may, for the purpos…

I move amendment No. 10: In page 6, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 51A of Act of 2015 10. Section 51A of the Act of 2015 is amended— (a) in subsection (1), by the substitution of “section 50A and subsection (1A),” for “section 50A,” and (b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1): “(1A) (a) Subsection (1) shall not apply in respect of a person who is a member of a class of person that is prescribed under paragraph (b). (b) The Minister may, for the …

I move amendment No. 11: In page 6, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 62 of Act of 2015 11. Section 62 of the Act of 2015 is amended— (a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2): “(2) The experience referred to in subsection (1) is— (a) in the case of a member referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection, not less than 5 years’ experience as a practising solicitor, practising barrister or member referred to in paragraph (c) of that subsectio…

I move amendment No. 12: In page 6, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 72A of Act of 2015 12. Section 72A(2) of the Act of 2015 is amended by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a): “(aa) there is no risk that a person would be subjected to the death penalty, torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or a serious and individual threat to his or her life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal …

In response to the Deputy's initial question, the Attorney General has carefully considered the information available and the various judgments. I know they are complex and sometimes conflicting but two things are clear, namely, that the approval of the Oireachtas is needed and that the guidelines are valid. After carefully considering the Supreme Court judgment, the advice from the Attorney General is that the approach that has been set out will suffice. The Attorney General has also taken into consideration, when…

Like all of us here, I am not sure about timelines as to when we will have an election, but this work, I hope, will come to a certain point by the end of this year. Either way, whether there is something before or after, we are probably okay time-wise to make sure we have a government to be able to make changes if that is what is required to uphold any of the recommendations. My understanding in terms of the suspended sentences is that, as regards the sentences overall, they are part of what is being looked at with…