According to Prime Minister Micheal Martin, the amendments will bring Ireland in line with other European Union member states and guarantee that applicants are able to contribute to society.
What Happened?
According to The Independent, proposed revisions to Irish citizenship legislation would extend the needed residency requirement from five to eight years. Applicants must exhibit fluency in either English or Irish and pass an Irish civics test.
Time spent in Ireland under the EU Temporary Protection scheme will no longer be counted as residency for naturalization. PM Martin remarked that the measures will link Ireland with other European Union member states and ensure that applicants can contribute to society.
“Well, first of all, could I say that more generally on migration, I think this government has made a significant and decisive change,” he said.
Busy Cabinet agenda today, including;
• Proposed new framework for citizenship by @OCallaghanJim
• The National Risk Assessment
• @JamesBrowneTD will bring forward changes to flood risk forecasting
• Climate adaptation measures for agriculture and food production pic.twitter.com/nrxmfAzUzi— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) September 9, 2026
“We now have a firmer and more robust migration system, and the number of those seeking asylum is reducing, and has reduced over the last 12 months. The Taoiseach (prime minister in Irish) also stated that his country is adequately prepared to implement the new European Migration Pact.
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan has also defended the proposals, stating that the eight-year timeframe is acceptable and meant to limit the development of citizenship numbers.
What Is the Current Status of Migration in Ireland?
According to the BBC, the net migration to Ireland is declining from its post-Ukraine war peak, with the highs of 80,000 people dropping to an estimated 48,000 between January and April 2026.
The Celtic country processed just over 1,100 asylum applications using a new screening system introduced as part of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact.
The application of the new laws across the bloc is designed to create stronger controls at the EU’s external borders while accelerating asylum processing times. Ireland is one of the countries where the new systems were first rolled out in a pilot scheme.
The housing crisis is hitting the country particularly hard: “Many asylum seekers in Dublin and throughout the nation are compelled to spend the night in tents while they wait for the processing of their applications for refuge. The overall housing shortage, the rise in refugees leaving the war in Ukraine, and the rise in xenophobia—which has sparked anti-immigrant demonstrations and arson assaults on asylum centers—all contribute to the worsening of this scenario,” we wrote earlier.
Applicants for UK Citizenship Charged More Than Five Times
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Irish Sea, another tactic has been placed to deter migrants acquiring citizenship. People applying for British citizenship charged more than five times the amount it costs the Home Office to process their application, The Guardian wrote.
The latest fee of £1,709 to become a citizen compares with an estimated administrative cost of just £324, according to the latest Home Office data.
Applicants must also pay a further £130 for a citizenship ceremony if successful, taking the total cost of becoming a British citizen to £1,839. The UK charges considerably more than other G7 countries for naturalization, the fee is more than three times the next highest – the US at £562.
