Council for Ethnic Minorities Rejects Change in Citizenship Law as "Xenophobic"
Source: icNorthernIreland
On March 12, 2004 icNorthernIreland reported, "The Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities hit out yesterday at any change in Irish law to stop the right of babies born in the Republic to automatic citizenship regardless of their parentage would be 'xenophobic'. It is as yet unclear what the impact of a law change would have for babies born in Northern Ireland, who get automatic Irish citizenship under the Good Friday Agreement. The minorities council's Patrick Yu said a planned constitutional referendum, to stop the influx of so-called 'baby tourists' who arrive in purely Ireland to give birth, would send out the wrong message. He said: 'We would condemn that change. It would be xenophobic. It would create the wrong message of monoculturalism to the Irish society. We would ask the Irish government to use a more positive way to control immigration.'"