Write a commentNewry and Armagh MLA Justin McNulty has said that all Irish Passport Holders must be treated equally following the UK’s exit from the European Union. It follows this weeks negotiations between the British Government and the EU.
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Mr McNulty said, ‘In recent weeks there has been much emphasis on completing phase one of the negotiations between the UK and the European Commission and they have focused on Citizens Rights, the Divorce Bill and the border in Ireland. These issues are all important and will be thrashed out in detail in due course, however, crucially I believe there needs to be clarity around the rights of those of us from the North who hold Irish Passports who wish to continue affirming our Irish and EU citizenship.
‘Anyone born on the island of Ireland has the right to seek and hold an Irish Passport; this was enshrined in legislation following the Good Friday Agreement and this must continue, post Brexit. Furthermore, as an Irish passport holder and citizen, we need to be confident that those same rights as Irish and EU citizens will be protected post Brexit.’
‘So if you’re from Newry or Dundalk and after March 2019 you hold an Irish Passport there can be no difference in the way you are viewed or treated, either on this island, or across the globe. In essence, there can be no dilution of our Irish or European Citizenship and this is the message which must be heard loud and clear in Belfast, London, Dublin and Brussels. We will not accept some form of diluted citizenship.’
‘A passport is more than a badge of honour or a claim to be from Ireland, but it also entitles us to certain protections and rights when we travel abroad. These rights and protections for Irish citizens in the North must remain in place, regardless of the decision of the little Englanders to leave the European Union.’
