The High Court has upheld the law requiring a foreign-born child of a naturalised Irish citizen who was also born abroad to register on the Foreign Births Register before acquiring Irish citizenship.
The case was brought by a father, identified as Dr N., and his young son S.N. Dr N. was born in Sri Lanka, moved to Ireland in 2010 to work as a doctor and became a naturalised Irish citizen in April 2016. S.N. was born in the United Kingdom in October 2019 and is a British citizen.
Dr N. argued that section 7(3) of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 discriminated against him compared with an Irish citizen born in Ireland. A child born abroad to an Irish-born citizen generally derives citizenship automatically, while S.N. must first be registered on the Foreign Births Register and becomes an Irish citizen only from the date of registration.
Mr Justice Barry O’Donnell rejected the constitutional challenge. He found that the distinction in the legislation was based on place of birth, not race or ethnicity, and applied to all Irish citizens born outside the island regardless of how they had acquired citizenship.
The judge stressed that the Constitution expressly leaves the future acquisition and loss of citizenship to legislation. He held that the Oireachtas was entitled to require a positive administrative step where both parent and child were born outside Ireland, including as a means of maintaining a connection between citizenship by descent and the State.
The court also noted that S.N. had not been denied Irish citizenship. He remained entitled to acquire it through the Foreign Births Register, a process described in the judgment as relatively straightforward and generally taking about nine months for children of naturalised citizens.
Claims under the European Convention on Human Rights also failed. The court found no incompatible discrimination under Articles 8 and 14 and no unlawful conduct by the Minister.
All relief was refused, leaving the existing registration requirement in force.