The Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, recently signed an Order to commence legislation for the purpose of revoking Irish citizenship in exceptional cases.

Power to revoke Irish citizenship is granted to the Minister for Justice pursuant to Section 19 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 (as amended).

The Supreme Court decision in the case of Ali Damache -v- Minister for Justice (2021) IES6 held that the legislation lacked procedural safeguards where a person is facing the revocation of their Irish citizenship and was thus unconstitutional.

The Minister for Justice has now signed the following two statutory instruments which will allow for the revocation process to be invoked in future.

  1. Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 (Part 3) (Commencement) Order 2025
  2. Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 (Revocation of Certificate of Naturalisation) (Prescribed Forms) Regulations 2025

The legislation is effective from the 7th of April 2025.  

In cases where the Minister for Justice decides to revoke a person’s Irish citizenship, they will first be issued with a Notice of Intention to Revoke, notifying them of the Minister’s intention to revoke their certificate of naturalisation and setting out the reasons for this intention to revoke.

Persons will have 28 days from the date that the Notice is given to them, to reply in writing with submissions addressing the Minister’s grounds for the intended revocation. 

The Minister must then issue a decision in writing as to whether a certificate of naturalisation is being revoked and in the case of revocation, provide the reasons for the decision.

Persons who are in receipt of a decision to revoke their certificate of naturalisation may request an inquiry to be held into the Minister’s decision their Irish citizenship and this inquiry will be held by way of an Independent Committee of Inquiry.

The Committee of Inquiry will then independently assess the decision of the Minister for Justice and overturn or reaffirm the decision.

Section 19 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 (as amended) gives the Minister for Justice power to revoke a certificate of naturalisation where:

  1. The certificate was procured by fraud, misrepresentation whether innocent or fraudulent or concealment of material facts or circumstances.
  2. The person has by an overt act, failed in their duty of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State.
  3. The person is ordinarily resident outside of the State (or island of Ireland) for a continuous period of 7 years and without reasonable excuse has not during that period registered annually an intention to retain Irish citizenship by filing a Form 5.
  4. A person is a citizen of a country at war with Ireland.
  5. The person voluntarily acquired another citizenship.

Whilst the powers of the Minister of Justice to revoke Irish citizenship have existed since 1956, to date it has only been revoked in the most serious circumstances.  Given the increased approval numbers of Irish citizenship in recent years, and the fact that the Irish passport is now ranked the strongest in the world, it is expected that there may be an increase in the number of Irish citizenships being revoked in future.

We submit that the importance of the independence of any Committee of Inquiry cannot be over emphasized given the serious implications attached to the stripping of a person’s Irish citizenship. Fair procedures must be followed at all times and persons facing the revocation of their Irish citizenship should immediately seek legal advise for assistance given the complex legal process. 

Sinnott Solicitors Dublin and Cork have a dedicated team of Immigration Solicitors and Consultants who are experts on all Irish immigration matters including all aspects of Irish citizenship. If you have any queries on the contents of this article, or require assistance, do not hesitate to contact our offices today on info@sinnott.ie or 014062862.