398 / 822
GAZETTE
JULY/AUGUST 1988
E. Token of Honour
The President of Ireland, under
Section 1 2 of the 1956 Act, may
confer Irish citizenship on a person
as a token of honour. To date this
honour has only been bestowed on
five persons.
Immigration to Ireland
In
c o n s i d e r i ng
i mm i g r a t i on
possibilities to Ireland, persons
who are not Irish citizens can be
considered under the following
three categories:
(i)
Persons
born
in Great Britain
or Northern Ireland. They are
treated to all intents and pur-
poses in exactly the same
manner as Irish citizens. They
do not require residency per-
mits or work permits of any
description and are fully ex-
empt from Aliens Control.
(ii) Na t i ona ls
(and
t he ir
d e p e n d a n t s) of memb er
states of the European Com-
munity. Pursuant to Ireland's
obligations under the Treaty
of Rome, the rights of free
movement and establishment
of EEC nationals and their
d e p e n d a n ts
have
been
provided for in Irish law under
a series of r egu l a t i on s,
although certain restrictions
still exist regarding nationals
of the newest member states,
namely, Spain and Portugal.
Interestingly, the regulations
do not apply to persons born
in Great Britain or Northern
Ireland and, as a result, a
serious (and presumably un-
intended) anomaly exists,
insofar as the dependants of
persons born in Great Britain
or Northern Ireland who were
not themselves born in Great
Britain or in Northern Ireland
and are not EEC nationals
cannot avail in Ireland of these
regulations. This came to light
in a recent case where a
British-born woman of Indian
extraction came to live and
work in Ireland w i th her t wo-
year-old child. The woman
had married an Indian three
years previously. The woman
applied to the Minister for
Justice for Entry Clearance
for her husband to be able to
come and live in Ireland (he
was still living in India having
been refused entry into the
UK) and relied on the 1977
Regulations (S.I. 393 of 1977)
wh i ch state generally that a
dependant of an EEC national
can join his or her spouse in
Ireland. However, the Depart-
ment of Justice referred the
applicant woman to the First
Schedule of the Regulations
which exempt British-born UK
citizens and N.I. born citizens
from the Regulations thus
leaving a UK citizen in a worse
off position than if she had
been, for example, a French
citizen.
(iii) A l i ens o t her t h an EEC
nationals. Persons in this
category coming to Ireland for
reasons other than employ-
ment or to engage in business
must register w i th the Aliens
Registration Authority, and
obtain a registration certifi-
cate, if intending to stay in the
S t a te longer t h an t h r ee
months. This certificate must
be renewed on a yearly basis
and will only be renewed if
the alien can show that he
and his dependants are not a
financial burden on the State.
Those non-EEC aliens who
wish to take up employment
or engage in business face
very considerable difficulties,
commencing wi th the require-
ment to register within one
week w i th the Aliens Regis-
tration Authority and obtain a
Registration Certificate within
one month. High unemploy-
ment exists in Ireland and the
c en t r al
o b j e c t i ve
of
immigration policy appears to
I r i sh St enographers
L imi t ed
(Director:
Sheila Kavanagh)
Qualified Experienced
Stenographers.
Fast, efficient service.
Overnight Transcripts by arrangement
Contact: Secretary,
"Hillcrest", Dargle Valley,
Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Telephone: 01-862184
be the prevention of displace-
ment of Irish and EEC workers
and businesses by non-EEC
nationals.
If an alien in this category
w i s h es
to
engage
in
employment or to establish
himself in business in the
State he must obtain a work
permit from the Department
of Labour or permission to
engage in business from the
Department of Labour. To
ob t a in a wo rk
pe rm i t,
application must be made by
the p r ospec t i ve employer
who must furnish full details
of: the proposed employee,
particulars of the post, efforts
that have been made to
recruit an Irish/EEC national
for t he post
i n c l ud i ng
adve r t i s i ng, and wh e t h er
t r ade un i ons have been
consulted and the result of
such consultation. Any work
pe rm it g r an t ed mu st be
renewed yearly. With regard
to engaging in business, the
alien must obtain permission
from the Minister to do so and
it appears that the Minister
regards £150 , 000 as the
mi n imum investment t hat
would qualify an alien for the
necessary permission. There
is no legislation governing
investment criteria and any
dec i s i ons are w i t h in t he
Minister's absolute discretion.
Aliens Control at Point of Entry
The Immigration Authorities at
points of entry to Ireland have
extensive powers to refuse non-
EEC aliens leave to land or to attach
conditions as to duration of stay.
The power of initial admission is
generally exercised by the Immi-
gration Officer at the point of entry.
He may refuse entry on any of the
following grounds:
(1) if an alien is not in a position
to support himself or any
accompanying dependant;
(2) although intending to take up
work or engage in business in
Ireland, an alien is not in
possession of a valid permit;
(3) an alien is suffering from
certain scheduled diseases;
(4) an alien has been convicted of
an offence punishable (in
Ireland or otherwise) by im-
prisonment for a max imum
period of at least one year;
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