Taoiseach to raise citizenship case with Johnson
TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has said he will raise the outcome of a Northern Ireland woman’s citizenship case with Boris Johnson this week.
In 2017, Emma DeSouza from Magherafelt won a case against the Home Office after it deemed she was British when her USborn husband applied for a residence card.
The Good Friday Agreement allows people to identify as British, Irish or both but on Monday an immigration tribunal upheld an appeal of the case, brought by the Home Office.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald called on Mr Varadkar to step up to defend the Good Friday Agreement in light of the ruling.
“I invite you to insist Prime Minister Boris Johnson moves at speed to introduce the required legislation through Westminster to ensure our Irish citizens living in Ireland are recognised and respected as Irish,” she said.
“You now need to step up and defend Emma, defend her rights and the rights of all Irish citizens.”
Mr Varadkar said yesterday the Irish government will continue to uphold the Good Friday Agreement and respect the fact people in Northern Ireland have the right to be British or Irish or both.
“This judgment appears to make a distinction between identifying as British or Irish, as opposed to being a citizen.
“And that is a misreading and our view of the Good Friday Agreement, so we will continue to seek an outcome of that review with the Secretary of State, and I will raise it with the Prime Minister,” he told the Dail.
“I raised it in the past with Prime Minister May and will do so again on Thursday or Friday with Prime Minister Johnson.
“Last February when it was raised with Prime Minister May, she acknowledged the serious and real concerns and pledged to review the issues around citizenship urgently to deliver a longterm solution consistent with the letter and spirit of the Good Friday Agreement,” he said.
Mr Varadkar said the Irish government is “actively seeking” an outcome of the review and would also be raising it with Secretary of State Julian Smith.
In response to Ms McDonald, Mr Varadkar said he would not be making demands of the British government in relation to Ms DeSouza’s case. “I know you’re suggesting a stronger approach that I insist and demand. If that approach was effective, you would be in government in Northern Ireland. That’s not the approach that works in the real world,” he said.
“You raise things with people in a logical, respectful and consistent way; insisting and demanding is how you get nowhere.
“And that’s why you got nowhere in the north.”
The wrangle centres on Ms DeSouza’s sponsorship of an application for a residence card from her US-born husband Jake.
During the stand-off, the Home Office retained her husband’s passport for two years — a move that prevented him from attending his grandmother’s funeral in the US.
After Monday’s ruling, Ms DeSouza pledged to take her case to the Court of Appeal in Belfast.
❝ PM May acknowledged the serious concerns and pledged to review the issues around citizenship