I would not be so sure about that. Past history does not support your optimism. See here:
http://www.mrci.ie/publications/documen ... ng2008.pdf
Case Study: Accessing social protection may affect citizenship claims
The MRCI recently encountered a situation whereby a non-EU national who arrived in 1999 on a work permit applied for citizenship in 2004, when he had been five years in the
State. In 2007 he received a response from the Citizenship Division stating that the Minister for Justice had decided not to grant him a certificate of naturalization on the basis
that he had availed of state support for a short period in the past.
The refusal letter stated that the Minister has adopted a general policy that he will normally require applicants for naturalisation to show that they are can support themselves
and any family members while residing in the State, and that they are in a position to continue that support into the future. The Minister is generally satisfied if an applicant
has not accessed State support in the three years before the application or after, and they have supported themselves independently in that period. In making the decision, the
Minister for Justice had exercised his absolute discretion, and there is no appeals process under current legislation.
In this case the migrant worker had accessed Job Seeker’s Benefit and Rent Allowance for a six month period and accessed two emergency Back to School Allowance payments.
He had suffered workplace exploitation and was forced to leave his employment and look for a new job.
A judicial review of the Minister’s decision in this case has been lodged, on the basis that the manner in which the decision to refuse citizenship was reached appears to have
lacked fair procedures, in that the migrant worker in question had no knowledge of the general policy of the Minister and the method by which self-sufficiency is assessed. He
was not notified that this policy existed or given an opportunity to address it. In addition, the information leaflet on applying for citizenship makes no mention of self-sufficiency
as a condition for citizenship, or of how this will be measured.
In the view of the MRCI, if a person pays social insurance contributions, they should be able to access social protection when it is required, without being penalised in the form of
being refused long term residency or citizenship. In the recently-published Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2008, Section 36 states that if you have availed of public
services during your five years residency, you may not be entitled to claim Long Term Residency. MRCI considers that access to pathways to permanent residency should not be
made dependent on such a requirement as it has the potential to have a very negative impact on migrant workers and their families who may experience workplace exploitation,
lose their job or find themselves in a vulnerable position.
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