merrion street

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am both delighted and privileged to be here today, to join you on such a special occasion - the day on which you will be granted Irish citizenship. Today is an important day in the story of your life and it is also an important day for Ireland, as the host nation bestowing this honour on you.

I welcome you all here today from countries all around the globe. We have, here at this ceremony, almost 1,000 candidates, who will shortly become Ireland’s newest citizens. And I welcome your friends and family who have come today to witness this important milestone in your life. It is particularly appropriate that such a significant and memorable event should take place here in the iconic architectural surroundings of the Convention Centre, a facility which celebrates all that is good about our country as we emerge from the dark economic days of recent years.

The decision to apply to become an Irish citizen is one, I know, that you did not take lightly and today is a major event in your life. It is also a major event for us as the host nation in bestowing this honour on you. As Minister for Justice and Equality, I have the responsibility and duty, on behalf of the Irish nation, to ensure that the grant of citizenship is given in accordance with the laws of our country. Each application is given careful consideration and I take each decision to grant, or indeed to refuse, citizenship very seriously indeed. It is a momentous occasion for you, as it is for us. It is a life altering event, not only for you, but for generations yet to come in your families. Put it this way – if the antecedents of that great Irish American President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who emigrated from this land all those years ago had not, in their day, become American citizens, JFK could not and would not have been elected President of the USA. Who knows – here among you – or among your children or your children's children, there may well be a future Taoiseach, a President, or perhaps even a Minister for Justice who will be up here granting citizenship to new citizens of the Republic of Ireland.

Today’s ceremony is greatly enhanced by the presence of Bryan McMahon, a retired Judge of the High Court, who will perform the role of Presiding Officer. He will administer the Declaration of Fidelity to the Irish Nation and Loyalty to the State, which is the final part citizenship application process, without which you cannot become an Irish citizen. We are, therefore, very grateful to Bryan for being here today to fulfil this most important function.

The Army Band, under the command of Captain Feargal Carroll, is providing the music for today’s event which adds immeasurably to the sense of occasion. The participation of the Colour Party, under the command of Captain Kyran Byrne, also underlines the solemnity and importance of the ceremony. Thank you all for your presence and your contribution to this event.

The Staff at the Department of Justice and Equality, and particularly those in the Citizenship Section in Tipperary, have worked tirelessly both in processing your applications and in making today’s event run smoothly. On behalf of all of us, I thank them also.

Soon after this Government took office in March 2011, I undertook, as Minister for Justice and Equality, the establishment of a ceremony to properly recognise and to mark, in a formal and meaningful way, the granting of citizenship. The first Citizenship Ceremony ever held in this State took place on 24th June 2011 in the Dublin Castle Convention Centre. On that day, 73 applicants were welcomed as Ireland’s newest citizens. Today, during four ceremonies, almost 4,000 new citizens will be welcomed to Ireland’s national family, 2,229 women and 1,738 men and amongst them are 195 men and women who came to this country as political refugees. By the end of today, 81 Citizenship Ceremonies will have been held since June 2011 and approximately 59,000 men, women and children will have been naturalised as Irish citizens during my time as Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence. I think that all of you here now, together with all those who have been granted citizenship in ceremonies since that date, deserve a big round of applause…….

When this Government took office in March 2011, the processing time for citizenship applications, in all cases, was over 2 years and often much longer. In fact, there were 22,000 applications waiting in a long scarcely moving queue.

Now, two years later, that intolerable situation has been remedied. New forms and streamlined processes, that I introduced soon after taking office, are working well and over 70% of citizenship applications are now being processed within the 6 month target. Due to complications, some applications take longer but the delays experienced prior to 2011 are no longer a feature of our citizenship process. Today’s ceremonies, along with those that have taken place since June 2011, have been critical to this very impressive turnaround. Our courts, where you would have been required to go to make the declaration that you will make here in just a few minutes, would simply not have been able to cope with the number of candidates for citizenship whose applications have been decided in the last 31 months. I think I can safely say that the reforms introduced and the establishment of a formal Citizenship Ceremony are significant and positive initiatives that have been met with universal approval.

It is truly amazing that this tiny island, at the edge of Western Europe facing into the Atlantic Ocean which is home to us all has, as its citizens - as members of our national Irish family - people who have come to live with us from every country on this planet. I think we all deserve a round of applause for that……

As you leave here today, as proud new citizens of this Republic and constitutional democracy, our history is your history and the narrative of your life is now part of our history.

In a few moments you will make your declaration of Loyalty to our Nation and Fidelity to our State. These are solemn and serious pledges and it is the duty of us all, as citizens of a proud nation which values inclusion, tolerance and diversity, to uphold them.

Finally, I wish to congratulate you, one and all, on becoming our newest Irish citizens – we welcome you to our national family.

I now formally introduce Judge McMahon and call upon him to administer the declaration in which you publicly declare your Fidelity to our Nation and Loyalty to our State as well as an undertaking to faithfully observe the laws of the State and respect its democratic values.

ENDS

[For Information: Retired Judge Bryan McMahon will preside over the 09:45 am and 12:00 am ceremonies, and Retired Judge Patrick McMahon will preside over the 2:25 pm and 4.40 pm ceremonies.]