To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent steps she has taken to reassure people in Northern Ireland that their Irish and EU citizenship rights are protected, in the event that the UK leaves the EU (a) with and (b) without a deal.
Answered on
15 April 2019
The Government remains committed to the Belfast Agreement and the rights it protects, including the birthright of people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British or both, and the right to hold both British and Irish citizenship.
Ensuring that the rights of all those in Northern Ireland continue to be protected after we leave the EU has been one of the UK’s key negotiating priorities. The Protocol to the Withdrawal Agreement delivers on a range of rights-related commitments.
We are also committed to working with our EU partners to put in place arrangements that will allow Irish citizens resident in Northern Ireland to continue to have access to rights, opportunities and benefits that come with EU citizenship.