All Northern Ireland born British and Irish citizens will be treated as European Union citizens for immigration purposes
The rule change that will see all British and Irish citizens born in Northern Ireland be treated as European Union citizens for immigration purposes has officially come into force. This is a significant change that sets the people of Northern Ireland apart from the rest of the UK, in now being able to access more favourable family reunion rights.
It comes off the back of a five-year legal challenge from myself and my husband Jake.
These changes represent a significant climb down from the British Home Office and set a precedent for our GFA-right to be accepted as Irish or…
It took almost three full years to restore devolution, and required the intervention of both the Irish and British governments, and yet six months in we’re already back to rumors of a collapse in power-sharing
It took no less than six months for a return to what increasingly appears to be Northern Ireland’s natural resting state of tumultuous governmental collapse. All speculation of course- but the airwaves are aflutter and we’ve had days of back to back commentary on this latest political crisis.
Northern Ireland’s record-setting 1,088 days without a devolved government nearly doubled Belgium’s prior world record - a staggering 541 days without a governing body. Though NI didn’t technically earn a world record title, as Westminster could still pass legislation, the very fact that this feat (if one can call it that) can…
This was the argument put forward by the British Home Office in our case but what was the substance of that assertion?
The question of identity and citizenship under the Good Friday Agreement has been brought into sharp focus through our legal challenge with the British Home Office for the right to be accepted as Irish under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
As parties in this legal challenge we have unbridled access to the legal arguments put forward by the department and whilst there is much that we cannot share there is, in my view, sufficient public interest to divulge some of arguments put forward by the British Government.
Notable is the attempt to minimise the birthright provisions to right…
As someone who has often defended the Irish Government to those feeling left behind, the lack of any Northern nominations to Seanad Éireann deals a very heavy blow.
The new Programme for Government is titled, “A shared Island”, and the document itself is ambitious in regards to Northern Ireland with a raft of initiatives to improve North-South relations. I wrote about the PfG this week and support the framework it sets out for our shared Island, but that message was immediately undercut by the absence of a Northern nomination yesterday.
As someone who was a contender for the nomination, and after receiving correspondence from both Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin this week I’d certainly got my hopes up, I am personally disappointed to not be nominated but that…
For days many of us will have been excitedly wading through the draft programme for government (PfG) that took 128 days to come to fruition. It’s a deal that represents a historic coalition between the two Civil War parties of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail in partnership with the Green Party- marking what could be a watershed moment in the evolution of Irish politics. Of course, no deal is perfect and all sides will be required to make compromises but the programme for government does pack its punches, in particular with regards to Northern Ireland.
As an island we jointly…
With a draft Government deal now on the table attention will soon turn to the Taoiseach nominations with confirmation that there will be an independent nomination from Northern Ireland. This will be welcome news to many across the region as we face the herculean task of achieving a smooth Brexit transition, compounded by a lack of legislation around key provisions of the Good Friday Agreement and the economic impact of both Brexit and Covid-19.
The challenges that lay ahead are considerable, born out of the Good Friday Agreement was a peace accord founded on the principles of equality and mutual…
The nomination would also represent the generational changes in the North and reaffirm the principles of the Good Friday Agreement
On Saturday a senior Fine Gael source told PA that “If there’s to be independent Senator from Northern Ireland then either Emma de Souza or former Senator Ian Marshall would be obvious choices.” This news was met with much excitement in our house, with my mum and grandmother lighting the candles and praying to no end. It would of course be an incredible opportunity and a great honour to be nominated but it could also mark a number of significant milestones.
I don’t claim to be young but I do belong to part of the next generation, I was 11…
As political parties seek to form a new Irish government, they are presented with a unique opportunity to incorporate a more generous view of what it means to be Irish, one that values the diversity and strength of Irish citizens the world over. Outgoing Senator for the diaspora Senator Billy Lawless recently called on the Irish government to bring forward a more inclusive, broader definition of Irish citizenship. …
The Joint Committee of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Irish Human rights and equality commission recently published a research paper on incorporating the Birthright provisions of the Good Friday Agreement into UK domestic law
Parity of esteem, mutual respect and equality are the founding principles of the 1998 Belfast Good Friday Agreement but these principles have not been fully realised in domestic UK law, policy and practice.
One example of a legislative gap is the British Nationality Act 1981, which predates the 1998 Agreement. All the parties and both the British and Irish Government’s agreed and recognised the ‘birthright’ of the people of Northern Ireland to ‘identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British or both’.
This understanding was given legislative effect by the Irish Government in the 2001 amendments to Ireland’s domestic…
Northern Ireland prepares for its forth Secretary of State in four years
Boris Johnsons cabinet reshuffle saw the first competent Secretary of State for Northern Ireland being axed from his post. During his short tenure Julian Smith managed what two previous Secretaries could not - the restoration of devolution through the New Decade New Approach deal and his personal commitment to helping victims of historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland should not be overlooked. Both of which are being cited as a potential reasons for his removal from a post which has suffered decades of woeful predecessors.
Smith in 204 days developed a clear understanding of the complexities of the region and…
Emma DeSouza
Just an Irish girl born in the North of Ireland unwittingly thrown into a debate for identity and citizens rights.
