Immigrants will be required to have lived in Ireland for eight years before they can apply for Irish citizenship, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has confirmed. 

The new rule will form part of a package of measures that will toughen up the migration system and make Irish citizenship notably harder to obtain than it is at present. 

Speaking at the Fianna Fáil think in in Tullamore, Mr Martin said the Government would strive for “balance” and wished to align with other EU countries. 

On The Claire Byrne Show, Political Correspondent Seán Defoe described it as Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan’s “big announcement”. 

“Under those rules, people will have to be resident in the country for eight years, which is an increase from the current five years,” Seán explained. 

“There's also going to be a language testing element, be that in English or in Irish, that people will have to go through before they can get Irish citizenship. 

“Also, that they will have to be able to support themselves economically, that the legislation will say that the people who are assessing citizenship may assess if an applicant has sufficient resources for himself or herself, so as not to be a burden on the State. 

“And there's also going to be measures in there about bringing over relatives.”

A woman with a new Irish passport. Picture by: PA Wire/PA Images. 

Seán added that the Government has consistently taken a “firmer” line on immigration since the election, noting that there has been a 39% decline in asylum applications since the EU Migration Pact came into force. 

The policy changes come at a time when anti-immigrant sentiment is on the rise across the West. 

“It's flared up, obviously, at different times, but generally, we haven't been sort of as hot-button an issue as other countries,” Seán said. 

“Certainly, the Minister's thinking is to get ahead of that in a way to tighten up the system and to try and make it more fair.”

Main image: Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Picture by: Alamy.com.