The first formal citizenship ceremony for immigrants successful in their naturalisation applications was held in Dublin Castle on 24 June.
The new Irish citizens comprised 73 men and women from 24 different countries.
Speaking at the inaugural event, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said it was “fantastic that we now have 73 more people who are proud to be Irish”.
He added that he hoped the day “signals a new departure” from the existing immigration regime, under which many applying for naturalisation have been forced to wait for two years or more.
Under the new measures announced by the minister on 16 June, citizenship applications would be dealt with within six months, barring some exceptional cases. However, this is subject to Department of Justice officials clearing the current backlog of 13,500 applications.
Addressing the 73 new Irish citizens, who hail from five continents, Minister Shatter said granting citizenship to any immigrant “is quite clearly a major event in his or her life. It is a time of celebration, a rite of passage and a moment for all of you to cherish. It is also a solemn event for this State in granting it.”
He added: “You have waited a long time for this moment – too long in many cases. You came to our country and chose to live among us; we welcome you and we hope that you will continue to contribute to our communities, to our neighbourhood and to our society.
“As a people we have been enriched by your presence and in making you citizens of our ancient and proud land we are acknowledging that contribution.
The minister also used the occasion to teach the new citizens a little of the history of the State, explaining that Dublin Castle – where they were seated ready to take their oath of allegiance to Ireland – was “once the seat of British rule in Ireland” and that the event “is maintaining in a very public way one of the very potent and powerful manifestations of our independence as a nation”.
He continued: “The history of this State is now your history and the narrative of your life is now part of our history. For those of you granted citizenship today your future is now interwoven with the future of this State, its citizens across the globe and, in particular, all of us who live on this island.”
Former High Court Judge Bryan McMahon, who administered the oath, said it was an honour for him to be asked to do so.
As an Irish citizen, he said, “you would have duties not just to respect the laws but to participate in the activities” that make Ireland a better place to live.
After the ceremony, Indian-born Saji Mathai, one of the new Irish citizens, told Metro Éireann the ceremony was both “brilliant and more open than what it used to be”.
He thanked the minister for introducing the ceremony, which he also described as “very emotional”.
His views were echoed by Church of Ireland minister Rev Canon Horace McKinley, who said he was at the event on the invitation of one his longstanding parishioners, who also became an Irish citizen last week.
“I think it is time that the ceremony was given more dignity and solemnity,” a said prominent immigration solicitor Derek Stewart. “However, unless some of the serious delays in the already existing applications are addressed immediately, some applicants are going to suffer despite the grandeur of today’s event.”
Stewart said he was concerned about “the 50 per cent of applicants who are refused and often not given reason for refusal”, although figures from the Department of Justice show 81 per cent of “valid eligible applications” were accepted in 2010.
He added that he would like Minister Shatter to urgently “turn his attention” to this area, lest the Department of Justice face “more rather than less judicial challenge towards the sometimes undoubtedly unfair refusal of applications”.
