The Irish Immigrant Support Centre, NASC, has added its voice to those opposing the Government's referendum on citizenship next month.
Opening its anti-referendum campaign in Cork today, Nasc said the referendum was "unnecessary and inequitable".
"The government's proposal to amend the Constitution is unnecessary and will fundamentally reverse Ireland's citizenship laws," said Ms Gertrude Cotter, co-ordinator of NASC.
"The government has failed to provide facts, to consult, or to allow time for debate on the issues surrounding the proposal."
"What the government is actually proposing will mean, that in future there will be two classes of Irish children: those who are nationals because they are born in Ireland and therefore part of the Irish nation, and those who are nationals and citizens because of who their parents are. This completely contradicts the Republic's proclamation that it would 'cherish all children equally', and the Constitutional guarantee of equality."
The Government has said the referendum is needed to close a "loophole" in the law, which allows the Irish-born children of non-Irish nationals to obtain citizenship. It cites the potential for "citizenship tourism" as a reason for the referendum, which if passed would remove the automatic right to citizenship for such children.
Responding to the Government's claim, Ms Cotter said there was no recent "loophole" in the citizenship situation.
"Ireland has had exactly the same basis for citizenship for the last 83 years. It has the same basis for citizenship as over 40 other common law countries, from the US and Canada, to New Zealand, to India to Africa to South America."
"Contrary to the allegation that this referendum is simply a harmonisation of European citizenship laws, the EU has never required this. It is misleading to pretend that the government suddenly needs to introduce consitutional change on these grounds. There is no need for government to proceed in this way, and the government has certainly offered no consistent, far less compelling justification for such a rash move."
She said there was "no statistical evidence" that there are a substantial number of non-national women arriving in the country at late stages of pregnancy simply to give birth.
A group of lawyers opposing the referendum launched their own campaign yesterday.