Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has welcomed government reforms to Ireland’s citizenship process that will require applicants to demonstrate proficiency in English or Irish before naturalisation, a policy he has campaigned for.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Tóibín noted that Ireland is currently the only country in Europe without a language threshold for new citizens, and welcomed the new plan for “two reasons”, one of which was integration.
“You cannot integrate if you cannot communicate,” he said, adding that Ireland doesn’t want to see enclaves of people “unable to communicate with the rest of society and develop.”
He argued that the second reason was that migrants who cannot speak the local language experience a “serious barrier” to finding work, engaging with the health service, and building a life here.
Asked whether he’d want proficiency in one language or both, Tóibín said he expects any threshold would realistically apply to one language [English] but suggested there’s a case for asking for at least a basic grasp of Irish alongside it.
He said he would expect a familiarity with Irish, which he compared to someone going abroad and being able to “order a beer” in the local language.
He pointed out that most European countries already pair this kind of language requirement with broader culture tests for prospective citizens, positioning Ireland’s current approach as the outlier rather than the norm.
His comments follow weeks in which Tóibín made similar arguments describing Ireland’s lack of any language requirement as an anomaly among EU states and suggesting it functions as a pull factor.
The debate that has been building across government was reignited in July after the conviction of Riad Bouchaker for the 2023 Parnell Square school stabbing attack, when it emerged the naturalised citizen had required an interpreter throughout his trial despite decades in Ireland and struggled with basic English conversation.
Asked by Gript’s Ben Scallan in the aftermath of the court proceedings whether the case should prompt a rethink of citizenship rules, Tánaiste Simon Harris said there was “some merit in considering language proficiency.”
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan acknowledged the State’s naturalisation system is currently “on the more liberal side” compared to other European countries, but stopped short of committing to reform, citing concerns about the administrative burden that testing applicants could create.
Asked whether the Bouchaker case should reopen the language-requirement question, Taoiseach Micheál Martin rejected the framing, saying, “You’re juxtaposing citizenship with murder.”
He argued it was wrong to draw broad policy conclusions from a single criminal case, since language “would not have been a factor” in the attack itself.
The Taoiseach later changed his tune, saying, “On the citizenship proposals, this is bringing us more in line with other European Union member states…in terms of first of all ensuring that the residency would go from five to eight years, also in terms of language, English language and some very basic Irish language familiarisation would be aspects of that, and an understanding of Ireland, obviously, and the values in our country, and also ensuring that with citizenship comes the capacity to contribute to society.”
He said there needs to be a “balance between independence, self-reliance, as opposed to total dependency”, adding how the Cabinet will discuss the proposals “and take them forward”.
“I think this Government has made a significant and decisive change. We have a firmer and more robust migration system now, and the number of those seeking asylum is reducing, and has reduced over the last 12 months. And also, in terms of returns, all of that is happening more efficiently and effectively,” he said.
Speaking to Gript on the issue previously, Aontú leader Tóinín said, “I think that the citizenship bar has been too low in this country,” he said.
“There has been citizenship, in my understanding, that has been delivered to individuals less than five years in relation to asylum. I think that’s too low; at the very minimum, it should be a five-year asylum process.
“And I do think that there is an onus on those seeking citizenship to make sure that they go into a position where they can assimilate into the local population in terms of language, in terms of culture and in terms of behaviour as well.
“We do want a situation where we have an integrated society. We don’t want a system where we have individuals who, because of language or cultural attributes for example, are not integrated into the mainstream of Irish society.”
Paul Lawless TD (Aontú) also argued that the case highlighted broader questions about integration and citizenship, saying applicants should bear responsibility for becoming part of Irish society.
“Yeah, I think it’s incredible that a person can be living here 20 or 30 years living on social welfare and not be integrated into society, not speak the language,” he said.
“And it does ask questions about how community employment schemes and activation schemes are working.”
The Mayo TD said the issue required a wider national conversation on citizenship and integration.
“So we do need a conversation about this and we do need a broader discussion on citizenship,” Lawless said.
“And the onus should be on the individual for any person coming to this country seeking citizenship. I think it should be the onus on that person to actually integrate, to speak the language and integrate into society,” he said.