A migrant rights organisation has called a proposal to increase the residency requirement for Irish citizenship from five to eight years as “harsh” and "unnecessary". 

The Government is considering making it tougher to acquire citizenship, which could also see migrants face tougher English language requirements, enhanced backchecks and stricter good character references. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, Doras CEO John Lannon, Doras said the current rules are tough enough. 

“These proposals seem harsh, they're unnecessary, they serve no useful purpose,” he argued. 

“As I said, it's already very difficult to get Irish citizenship. 

“We've seen people wait years to get it after applying, we've seen people rejected because they spent time out of the country.

“In fact, last Friday, I was speaking to a woman whose application was rejected because she went to her father's funeral abroad eight months before applying.”

A citizenship ceremony at the Convention Centre in Dublin. Picture by: Alamy.com. 

When asked what was ‘harsh’ about the proposals, Mr Lannon replied that he did not believe the time people have to be resident in Ireland before they apply should be extended from five to eight years. 

“Let's think about what that means in terms of somebody not being able to avail of Irish citizenship if they're on social welfare,” he said. 

“People may have come here because they had work, the work may have disappeared, they may have had an illness, they may have had a serious injury, they may be on social welfare payments after a number of years here.

“Does that mean they can't get Irish citizenship? Somebody may be over 66 if they're on a pension. Does that mean that they can't become an Irish citizen having worked for years here? 

“Bear in mind, eight years is the time that a family's children would have gone through primary school.”

A woman with her certificate of Irish citizenship. Picture by: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie. 

Mr Lannon continued applicants should not be rejected just because they are availing of social welfare, arguing that the system is designed to help those who are in need. 

“People find themselves in situations where they have to avail of social welfare, they have to avail of disability payments, they have to avail of an old age pension,” he said. 

“They have to avail of a carer's allowance in many, many situations. 

“I really hope that the minister is not saying that those people after working for years cannot avail of Irish citizenship.”

Mr Lannon that he remains “really concerned” about how the Government treats migrants, noting tougher regulations for asylum seekers have been introduced, while support for Ukrainians has been withdrawn. 

“From our work in Doras, we see the human costs of all of these policies,” he said. 

“We see the difficulty that it causes to people, to families and we're just calling for fairness and for the Government to recognise the rights that people should have after spending many years in the country.”

Main image: An Irish citizenship ceremony. Picture by: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie.