Speech to be delivered by Alan Shatter TD, Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, 31 March 2014, Citizenship Ceremony, Convention Centre Dublin

Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to be joining you on this special day for all those of you who will be granted Irish citizenship. It is a very important day in the story of your life and it is also an important day for Ireland, as the host nation bestowing this honour on you.

It is about you the applicants becoming citizens of our democratic republic when you make a solemn pledge to uphold the ideals and principles we all cherish. It is a day when we celebrate the enriching diversity that migrants have brought to Irish society and welcome you as the newest citizens of our nation.

Today 3,900 people from 121 countries will join the Irish nation. I am also pleased to extend a welcome to your friends and family who have come today to these magnificent surroundings of the Convention Centre to witness this joyful milestone in your life. The decision to apply to become an Irish citizen is one you did not take lightly and today is a major event in your life and that of your family. The oath you will soon take is a solemn personal undertaking and I know it is something you do sincerely and in good faith.

As Minister for Justice and Equality, I have the responsibility and duty, on behalf of the Irish nation, to ensure that the grant of citizenship is given in accordance with the laws of our country. Over the past three years I have made decisions in almost 78,000 cases. Each application is given careful consideration and I take each decision to grant, or indeed to refuse, citizenship very seriously indeed.

I am very conscious that obtaining Irish citizenship is a life altering event, not only for you, but for generations yet to come in your family. In 1848, the great grandfather of President John F Kennedy migrated to Boston from County Wexford. If his ancestors had not, in their day, become American citizens, JFK could not have been elected President of the United States. Here among you, or among your children or grandchildren, there may well be a future Taoiseach, a President, a Judge or perhaps a Minister for Justice who will be granting citizenship to future new citizens of Ireland. We should never lose sight of the fact that becoming a citizen opens up that possibility. We need to dream to fulfil our dreams – JFK himself, more than most, had a keen appreciation of that great promise of fulfilment.

Next week our own President, Michael D. Higgins, will embark on the first State visit of an Irish Head of State to the United Kingdom. This historic event, following as it does Queen Elizabeth’s successful visit to Ireland in 2011, symbolises the coming of age of our country and it is fitting that we do so as a more diverse, multicultural nation, proud of our heritage but also looking with optimism to the future and to the potential of all our citizens being fulfilled.

Today’s ceremony is greatly enhanced by the presence of Her Honour Judge Rosemary Horgan, President of the District Court, who will perform the role of Presiding Officer and administer the Declaration of Fidelity to the Irish Nation and Loyalty to the State which is the final part of the citizenship application process, without which you cannot become an Irish citizen. We are very grateful to President Horgan for being here today to fulfil this most important function.

The Band of An Garda Síochána, under the command of Inspector Pat Kenny, is providing the music for today’s event which I think you will agree adds immeasurably to the sense of occasion. I would like to thank all the members of the band for their wonderful performance. The participation of the Colour Party, under the command of Captain Alan Rath, honours our national flag and underlines in a very significant way the solemnity and dignity of the ceremony. Thank you all for your presence and your contribution to this event.

The staff of my Department, particularly those in the Citizenship Section, have worked tirelessly in processing your applications and in making today’s event run smoothly. On behalf of all of us, I thank them also.

When I was appointed as Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence in March 2011, I made it a priority to establish a ceremony to appropriately recognise and to mark, in a formal and meaningful way, the granting of Irish citizenship. The first Citizenship Ceremony ever held in this State took place – three short months later – on 24th June 2011 in Dublin Castle. On that day, 73 applicants were welcomed as Ireland’s newest citizens. By the end of today, 88 ceremonies will have been held and over 68,000 people have been welcomed to Ireland’s national family through naturalisation. I think that all of you here now, together with all those who have been granted citizenship since that date, deserve a big round of applause……

It was a very different picture when this Government took office in March 2011. The processing time for citizenship applications, in all cases, was over three years and people often waited much longer. In fact, there were 22,000 applications waiting in a long scarcely moving queue. A crucial part of establishing the ceremonies was the necessary work to eliminate the backlog that that existed and now, nearly three years later, that intolerable situation has been remedied. Over 70% of citizenship applications are now being processed within the 6 month target. Due to complications, some applications take longer but the delays experienced prior to 2011 have been eliminated from our citizenship process.

The introduction of Citizenship Ceremonies, such as this one today, has been critical to this very impressive turnaround. Up to then, the declaration you will make here in just a few minutes was made in local District Courts. Not only was this arrangement inappropriate but the courts would simply not have been able to cope with the number of candidates for citizenship whose applications have been decided in the past few years. I think I can safely say that the reforms introduced and the establishment of a formal Citizenship Ceremony are very positive initiatives that have been met with universal approval.

It is truly uplifting to realise that this tiny island which is home to us all, at the edge of Western Europe facing into the Atlantic Ocean has, as its citizens – as members of our national Irish family – people who have come to live with us from every country on this planet. I think we all deserve a round of applause for that…

As you leave here today, as proud new citizens of this Republic and constitutional democracy, our history is your history and the narrative of your life is now part of our history.

In a few moments you will make your declaration of Loyalty to our Nation and Fidelity to our State. These are solemn and serious pledges and it is the duty of us all, as citizens of a proud nation which values inclusion, tolerance and diversity, to uphold them.

Following that, we will stand and face the national flag in respect and remembrance of past generations while celebrating the present generation. I wish to congratulate you, one and all, on becoming our newest Irish citizens and welcome you to our national family.

I now formally introduce President Horgan and invite her to administer the declaration in which you publicly declare your Fidelity to our Nation and Loyalty to our State as well as an undertaking to faithfully observe the laws of the State and respect its democratic values.

Thank you.