Migration and Citizenship: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Michael Collins (II), Cork South-West

Ireland has always been a welcoming country and raising legitimate concerns about immigration does not make somebody anti-immigrant. Independent Ireland supports legal immigration and we recognise the enormous contribution people who come here legally make to our economy, our health services and our communities. However, we also have to be honest about capacity. We have a housing crisis, enormous pressure on our health services and communities being asked to accommodate significant change without proper consultation. We need faster decisions and proper enforcement when applications are unsuccessful as well as effective border controls and genuine engagement with communities.
At the same time, a firm immigration system must also be a fair one. I recently made representations on behalf of a South African national living in Ballydehob who is facing deportation. He has specialist skills in solar PV, inverter and battery storage technology. He works with a west Cork company and is passing those skills on to Irish electricians. His employer wants to retain him and is prepared to regularise his employment. Surely circumstances like these deserve proportionate consideration.
I also welcome the Taoiseach’s indication that the proposed new criteria may not apply retrospectively to people already resident here. That protection should be written clearly into the Bill. People who came here, planned their lives around the five-year rule, and are working here, especially those nearing eligibility, deserve certainty and fairness. We should also examine the situation of PhD researchers, many of whom teach, publish, pay tax and contribute enormously to Ireland, yet time spent here on a student permission does not count as reckonable residence. At least part of full-time doctoral research should be recognised towards residence. I sent the Minister of State’s office a case on Monday concerning a young man who was born and raised in Ireland and lived here for approximately 20 years, but because he was apparently born just days after a change in the law, he is now struggling to obtain citizenship. Will the Minister of State personally examine that case? It should be straightforward but once again it is not. We need an immigration system that is controlled and accountable but also fair, proportionate and capable of applying common sense to individual circumstances.

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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