Ireland is not acting like a serious country when it cannot give clear answers about basic safeguards.
Applicants for Irish citizenship must disclose criminal convictions, including convictions abroad. Yet a criminal record does not automatically rule out naturalisation. Why? Which offences can be overlooked, what factors are considered, and how many people have been granted citizenship despite a conviction? The public deserves clear figures and a clear explanation of the standard being applied.
Now we read that the State does not keep figures on convictions acquired after people become naturalised citizens. That raises a separate question about accountability. Citizenship should not make a conviction disappear from the information available to authorities carrying out lawful checks.
And in our hospitals, an HSE audit has found doctors working without completed Garda vetting or overseas police clearance. How was anyone permitted to begin patient-facing work before those checks were complete?
These questions concern decisions and safeguards, regardless of a person’s nationality. The Government and HSE should publish the answers, address the gaps found by the audit, and ensure every required check is completed before a clinician starts work.