Migration and Citizenship: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
============================================================

Matt Carthy (SF), Cavan-Monaghan

Cuirim fáilte roimh an díospóireacht seo faoi imirce agus saoránacht. Migration is a critical area of public policy that must be got right. Setting the terms of Irish citizenship is a matter of fundamental importance. Citizenship should reward integration and contribution to our communities and our country. Citizenship laws should be connected to a wider immigration framework but remain distinct. A migration strategy must be underpinned by the needs of the country, recognising capacity challenges in housing and public services, our capacity to integrate those who come here and the need for a humanitarian response to those fleeing war and persecution. Citizenship laws are about ensuring that people who have legally been here on a long-term basis, made Ireland their home and integrated into their communities are provided with a clear pathway to belong. Our citizenship laws should never be the reason to come to Ireland. They should be the route for those legally and permanently resident here to become part of the Irish nation.
The truth is that there has been a failure to plan and develop a coherent migration strategy. Rather than deciding what is in our best interests and planning accordingly, policy has been driven by short-term decisions. Student permission numbers have been driven by the needs of language schools and cash-strapped colleges. Employment permits have been driven by the needs of sectors whose skills shortages Governments have failed to adequately plan for, with no account of pressures on housing and public services. Then there is the dysfunction that has marked the international protection system. These failures have created chaos, increased tensions and undermined social cohesion in a way that was entirely avoidable.
Sinn Féin wants a fair, strong and efficient migration system. Migration management, including work permits and student permissions, must take account of capacity for integration and of housing and public services. It is time to move towards migration management on an all-Ireland basis. This makes sense for Ireland - more sense than signing up to an EU pact that failed to recognise the unique challenges arising from the common travel area with a state outside of the EU. Sinn Féin has called for faster international protection processing, effective and tracked deportations, an end to profiteering and stronger supports for integration. The record backlog that is now within the IPAS appeals system and the continued poor enforcement of decisions where a person has no right to remain raise huge concerns. IPAS centres should not be located in areas that are already lacking services, facilities and investment. There has to be a meaningful engagement with communities. The temporary protection directive was introduced as an emergency response when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. It was envisaged as a short-term emergency measure lasting a maximum of three years. The expectation was that conditions would allow people either to safely return or to move into other legal statuses within a relatively short period. Instead, the Government has agreed to one extension after another, creating unnecessary uncertainty for Ukrainians and pressures on our services and resources.
Confidence in the migration system depends on key principles. First, there must be a fair system with clear rules that are consistently enforced and clear consequences when those rules are breached. The system should not be categorised by delays of permit renewals or asylum applications. Second, migration policy must be guided by robust data, transparency and proper planning. Decisions should take account of the capacity in housing and public services, integration and community resources while also addressing the skills and workforce needs. Finally, deportation orders must be enforced once due process has been exhausted and particularly for those involved in serious criminality. Failure on all these fronts undermines the integrity of the system, erodes public confidence and unfairly damages the perception of the overwhelming majority of migrants, who have made a positive contribution to our society.
Caithfimid luach a chur ar shaoránacht na hÉireann. Sinn Féin believes that Irish citizenship is something to be valued. It signifies membership of our nation. It carries rights and responsibilities and should reflect the genuine and lasting commitment to Ireland. International experience shows that successful integration is best achieved through a clear, transparent and fair pathway to citizenship, one that encourages civic participation, community involvement and a genuine connection to the country. Changes to citizenship rules can create uncertainty for those seeking to become Irish citizens, while delays in renewing residence permissions also contribute to unnecessary anxiety for many people.
As citizenship applications grow, it is right that we examine whether the current system is fit for purpose and properly reflects the significance of Irish citizenship. The current system relies heavily on time spent in the State, broad ministerial discretion and very unclear rules. Time spent in Ireland matters, but in and of itself, it is not a measure of integration contribution or commitment to Irish society. Citizenship should be acquired through a structured and transparent process that reflects both the privileges and responsibilities that come with it. Sinn Féin supports stronger, clearer and more consistent citizenship rules. Citizenship should not just be reduced to a passport acquired simply through the passage of time or a privilege reserved for the wealthy. Emphasis has to be put on integration, civic participation, community involvement and an understanding of Irish society, including an ability in Irish, English or Irish Sign Language. Sinn Féin also wants a clear pathway to Irish citizenship for people who are legally resident in the North where they meet the same conditions applied elsewhere on this island, recognising that this nation goes beyond the Twenty-six Counties of this State. People who have lawfully built their lives in Ireland but who may not want or qualify for citizenship should also be able to access secure, long-term residence. This is something that we will be engaging with the Minister on. The transitional arrangements also need to be considered for those who have established their lives here under the existing rules and had legitimate expectations about when they would qualify for citizenship based on their reckonable residence.
I wish to make it clear that Sinn Féin wants to see a managed migration system, one that ensures that we do not see existing communities isolated or removed from decisions that affect the area where they live, one where permit and visa numbers take account of the capacity to integrate and the pressures on housing and public services. We have to recognise that many communities have seen huge population increases in a fairly short timeframe and in a completely unplanned way. This has impacted on cohesion, community relations, housing demand and public services capacity. It has led to resentment and anger. The dysfunctional IPAS system, marred by delays and inefficiency, has resulted in huge profits for a small number of private operators but completely failed local communities and those fleeing war and persecution. The handling of the Ukrainian temporary protection system pitted people against each other, providing supports to one cohort that were denied to everyone else, including struggling Irish families. These failures taken together mean that many within the public have lost trust in the migration system. Our communities have been let down, as have those who have moved here legally wanting nothing more than what is best for their families, who have often been subject to unacceptable racism and intolerance.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael must take responsibility for this. Sinn Féin wants to address this through the delivery of an all-Ireland migration management system. We have brought forward policies to improve the current system and we will be bringing forward others. I say all of this because every day I am shown an online post that misrepresents my party's position, with self-declared patriots and nationalists with their self-promoting videos decrying Sinn Féin's non-existent open borders policy. These actors are not representative of ordinary people, who in many cases have genuine issues with how migration is managed and have every right to be heard on these issues. Those people I described lock arm in arm with the worst extremes of British colonial racists. They take advantage of Government failings. They take advantage of the chaos, profiteering and lack of engagement with communities, not to attack Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, which are responsible, but instead to try to create a wedge between working-class people and Sinn Féin. Of course, this week, when an actual Irish nationalist working-class community on the Garvaghy Road is under siege, these carpet baggers are nowhere to be found. They are more likely, in fact, to be seen drinking with the UDA in a loyalist bar than standing all night in the rain with the nationalist community of the Garvaghy Road, who are trying to defend their right to live free from sectarian intimidation. They are the real Irish patriots.
The days of misrepresenting Sinn Féin are over. The people can see who has the backs of the Irish working class. We will always proudly and unashamedly stand with our communities, North and South. We are for Irish unity. We are for the working people of Ireland. We are for a managed and fair migration system that treats everyone with dignity and respect but does not dismiss the concerns or pressures on existing communities, that sees Irish citizenship as something to be valued and that rewards integration and contribution. We are for a country that does not force our young people to travel in the opposite direction as the only hope for a home. We are for giving people a break from the cost-of-living crisis. We are for the Irish Republic, and we will not allow any west Brit self-declared patriots to misrepresent us ever again.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-30