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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Taro who wrote (269335)	1/20/2006 8:53:35 AM
From: Jim McMannis	Respond to of 1586465

Amendment to restrict Ireland's citizenship law passes easily - SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press Writer Saturday, June 12, 2004 (06-12) 12:23 PDT DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) -- Voters have overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to tighten Ireland's liberal citizenship laws, partial results showed Saturday. With a third of ballots counted, nearly 80 percent of votes from Friday's referendum supported an amendment to stop granting automatic citizenship to anybody born on the island of Ireland, a rule unique among the 25 nations of the European Union. To be approved, the government's proposed referendum required only a simple majority, and campaigners against the proposed amendment conceded defeat. The amendment will allow the government to pass a bill that would allow Irish-born children to receive automatic citizenship only if at least one parent is Irish or, in the case of foreign parents, if they have been resident in Ireland for a minimum of three years. This measure would bring Ireland closer to the policies observed by other European nations, which offer citizenship based either on the nationality of parents or on a sufficient length of residence. Justice Minister Michael McDowell, who led the government campaign for a "yes" vote to the amendment, argued that heavily pregnant foreigners were traveling to Ireland specifically to exploit the law and thereby gain a European Union passport too easily. Opponents dismissed McDowell's evidence as anecdotal. And some said Irish voters would be hypocritical if they voted to make Ireland less welcoming to immigrants, since the Irish themselves have been emigrating freely to Britain, North America and Australia for more than a century. But that cycle has dramatically reversed over the past decade of unprecedented economic growth and prosperity in Ireland. Tens of thousands of foreigners each year have been receiving work permits here, alongside thousands more who arrive illegally and claim asylum, largely from Nigeria and Romania. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the Net: