Fine Gael is set to support the Government's controversial referendum on citizenship although the party will resist any plan to conduct a poll on the same day as the June 11th elections.
The party's justice spokesman, Mr John Deasy, said yesterday he would be urging his colleagues to support the Government proposal. "As justice spokesman my position is that I am in favour of the proposal," he said.
While rejecting any link between support for the measure and racism, he feared that holding the referendum in June would be used by some people "to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment".
The Cabinet discussed the referendum last Tuesday but, while widely expected to conduct the poll on June 11th, ministers did not finalise a date for the referendum.
Mr Deasy said he had informed the party leader, Mr Enda Kenny, of his position and said Mr Kenny held similar views.
Mr Kenny's spokesman would say only that he had written to the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, seeking additional information about the proposal.
"It may be the way to address the matter but at this stage we're not ruling anything in or out until we get a response from the Taoiseach," he said.
However, senior figures in the party do not anticipate resistance in the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party to supporting the proposal.
Mr Deasy said he believed other parties, which he declined to name, might oppose the referendum for political reasons "even though they might feel different personally".
He said he was concerned about the number of foreign women presenting late in their pregnancies to give birth in Dublin hospitals, and believed the Government proposal was the correct way of addressing that. He added that his stance was informed by a more general view that citizenship should not be automatic. He said he was never in favour of the automatic right to citizenship contained in the Constitution since the Belfast Agreement was passed.
Mr Deasy said he feared the citizenship issue would become embroiled with racist sentiment if the referendum went ahead in June.
"I fear that people would use it to try and stir up anti-immigrant sentiment," he said.
"People would want to be very careful when throwing around innuendos concerning race. It doesn't help."
He said he resented the tendency to characterise as "racist, extremist or right wing" qualifications on the right of access to the State.
"I think people should cop themselves on, particularly in the media. Just because you think there should be a restriction in the area of immigration doesn't mean that you're extremist."
No wording has been published for the proposal to amend Article 9 of the Constitution, which qualifies the citizenship rights set out in Article 2.
The proposal will allow the Government to set out in legislation the citizenship rights of children born in Ireland to non-nationals.
