The Development Of Irish Citizenship Regime

For a long time,Ireland was an emigration country and the ethnic composition in Ireland was relatively simple.Since the mid-1990s,its rapid economic growth has attracted influx of immigrants.After nearly two decades,Ireland has become one of the most globalised countries in the world.The mass immigration has brought significant transformations to Irish citizenship regime and with the rise in the number of naturalised Irish citizens,who are called the New Irish,the meaning of Irish citizenship is being redefined.Undoubtedly,the 2004 Referendum on Irish citizenship is a key issue in defining the meaning of Irish citizenship.The referendum was launched in response to the influx of immigrants.However,this thesis deems that an analysis of the interrelationship between immigrants and Irish citizenship regime should not only focus on the 2004 Referendum and the outcome of the referendum should not be solely boiled down to the discrimination against African immigrants and migrant women from racialisation and gender critiques.There are two innovation points in this thesis.First,considering the strong link between Irish citizenship regime and Irish national identity building throughout the history,this thesis decides to take Irish identity building as medium.Based on Joppke's definition of citizenship,it develops an analytical framework which connects citizenship,immigrants and national identity building.Under the framework,immigrants'influence on Irish citizenship is set in the context of continuous interaction between Irish citizenship regime and Irish identity building.The research question therefore could be interpreted as how the influx of immigrants since the mid-1990s has transformed Irish national identity and then how these transformations are reflected in the Irish citizenship regime.Second,this thesis does not only focus on the 2004 Referendum.It also traces the historical evolvement of Irish citizenship regime before the influx of immigrants came and explores the latest development in Irish citizenship regime after the 2004 Referendum.In this way,this thesis is in a better position to answer how immigrants have influenced Irish citizenship regime.This thesis first traces the historical development of Irish citizenship regime.By analysing Irish citizenship acts and other materials,it examines how Irish citizenship regime has interwoven with Irish identity building and what the meaning of Irish citizenship was before mass immigration came.Then,it explores how Ireland has become a new destination for immigrants since the mid-1990s and discusses the tension between immigrants and Irish citizenship regime.Next,it focuses on the 2004 referendum.It analyses what transformations the referendum has brought to the rules of Irish citizenship attribution and reflects the high proportion of yes vote in the referendum.Last,it discusses the 201 1 reform in Irish naturalisation procedure and the rise of New Irish.By incorporating relevant researches,it tries to explore the future development direction in Irish identity building and the meaning of Irish citizenship in the age of globalisation.Primary sources used in this thesis comprise data from Central Statistical Office,legal-texts,Dail debate,politicians'speeches,records from European Court of Justice,governmental publications and proposed bills.Secondary sources are mainly from mainstream media reports,surveys and relevant studies.This thesis argues that great transformations have been brought to Irish citizenship regime.On the first level,mass immigration has brought significant changes to the rules of Irish citizenship attribution.After the 2004 referendum,the fundamental principle of Irish citizenship regime shifted from the jus soli principle to the jus sanguinis principle.The importance of naturalisation in Irish citizenship regime has increased.In this sense,Irish citizenship regime shows more convergence to other EU member states than before.On the second level,the rise in the New Irish is redefining the meaning of Irish citizenship.As diversity is gradually recognised as integral to Irish identity,the meaning of Irish citizenship is gradually changing from the identification of Irish ethnicity and particularistic cultural heritages to the recognition of diversity and the embracement of more universalistic values.