The signing of this order reestablishes the important and necessary power, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said.

LEGISLATION ALLOWING for naturalised Irish citizenship to be revoked in serious cases is to be recommenced, by order of Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan. 

The minister has the power to revoke Irish citizenship granted by naturalisation under Section 19 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956. 

However, a Supreme Court judgment in 2021 found that the process lacked some necessary safeguards, resulting in necessary amendments having to be made to the law. 

The minister has now signed the commencement order of that legislation, re-establishing the revocation process effective from 7 April 2025.

“The signing of this order reestablishes the important and necessary power to revoke naturalised Irish citizenship. 

“Where citizenship has been obtained fraudulently or when an individual poses a serious risk or threat to the State, it is essential that the power to remove the citizenship which has been granted to them is there,” said the justice minister.  

“The order is not designed to disadvantage or be punitive against naturalised Irish citizens. It does, however, provide repercussions and remedy when citizenship is acquired by fraudulent means, or when a person poses a serious threat to our society,” he added. 

O’Callaghan added: “Revocation of Irish citizenship is only undertaken in the most serious of circumstances and I am aware that the loss of citizenship has serious consequences.”

The revocation of citizenship has been used sparingly in the past, fewer than 10 times since 1956, the Dáil was told last year. The revocation is only done “in the most serious of circumstances” including fraudulent acquisition of citizenship and terrorist activity, former Minister Helen McEntee said at the time. 

I am Looking forward to working together to enhance the relationship between our two countries

We discussed protecting the common travel area and ensuring our immigration laws are robust and enforced. Looking forward to working together to enhance the relationship between our two countries. UK-Ireland Summit.

The Justice Minister also said he knows one of the victims.
MINISTER FOR JUSTICE Jim O’Callaghan has commended the gardaí who responded to what he called “an awful, random attack” in the Stoneybatter area of Dublin yesterday. 

Speaking to RTÉ Radio this morning, O’Callaghan said: “This could have been a lot worse, and I want to commend the gardaí, particularly the guard who arrived there first and apprehended and disarmed the individual concerned.”

He said that if gardaí had not responded as quickly as they did, “I fear we could have been talking about something much worse this morning, rather than the three serious injuries that took place”. 

Yesterday afternoon, a man attacked people with a blade in Stoneybatter, leaving three men in hospital. Two of them are being treated for serious but not life-threatening injuries, while one was admitted with less serious injuries.

A man in his 20s has been arrested and detained at a Garda station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.

O’Callaghan said the assailant, who it’s understood was homeless and originally from South America, had no history of violent attacks that gardaí were aware of and that the three men were attacked at random. 

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan this week attended a two-day meeting with his counterparts in Warsaw to discuss migration, preparing for and responding to new and emerging threats, security and access to justice.

The Minister also availed of the opportunity to hold a bilateral meeting with the EU’s Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, to discuss Ireland’s views on a new proposal to improve the EU’s mechanism for returning migrants who have been refused international protection.

Minister O’Callaghan also met with the Spanish Minister for Justice and agreed to work with Spain and other like-minded countries to strengthen the new EU Directive on combatting child sexual abuse. He also hosted a meeting with his Lithuanian and Greek counterparts to discuss shared priorities and ambitions for the Irish, Lithuanian and Greek Presidencies of the European Union, which will span an 18-month period from July 2026 to December 2027.

Minister O’Callaghan agreed with his counterparts that the Union needs to see sustainable progress on addressing irregular migration, including through better cooperation on returns and readmissions. In addressing this, Minister O’Callaghan urged the Commission to bring forward a new measure that increases the effectiveness of returns in the EU. Responding to points made about the exploitation of refugee law by criminal groups engaged in people smuggling, Minister O’Callaghan said:

“The exploitation of human-beings, putting lives at risk, is unacceptable. We need to ensure our criminal justice systems can adequately respond to evolving threats posed by migrant smuggler networks. I welcome the agreement to map high-risk criminal networks to ensure we have an improved EU wide intelligence picture of groups that are fuelling migrant smuggling and other organised crime.”

When discussing how the EU might better prepare for new and emerging threats, Minister O’Callaghan took the opportunity to thank his counterparts for sending crews and equipment to assist reconnection efforts in Ireland in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn.

Among the key issues raised for inclusion in the EUs new Internal Security Strategy Minister O’Callaghan highlighted the threat posed by organised crime, the spread of disinformation, and cyber and hybrid threats. Encouraging all Member States to work together to address such threats, Minister O’Callaghan said:

“The cross-cutting nature of internal security in today’s increasingly geopolitical environment makes it even more important that Member States work together to ensure our collective security. We must take an all-encompassing approach, including by prioritising security in our engagement with partners and stakeholders and embedding an effective response to security challenges in developing policy.”

The Minister also engaged in a discussion on how Member States should work together to protect the integrity of the Unions’ approach to justice and fundamental rights, and to ensure access to justice for all and discussed ongoing work to gather evidence to ensure accountability for crimes committed in the context of Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

Signing the register of members for the 34th Dáil with Clerk of Dáil Éireann, Peter Finnegan. A great honour to once again be elected to serve the people of Dublin Bay South. Thanks again for your support.