The Gazette 1995

GAZETTE

DECEMBER 1995

beyond the scope of the Courts. It is unlikely however, that an Irish Court would accept it was precluded from judicially reviewing decisions in this area. In the last two to three years a number of naturalisation cases have been brought, in the High Court and are awaiting decision. The presence of an "absolute discretion" as found in the Act is uncommon in Irish statutory language and in view of the trend of judicial opinion in recent years in the area of administrative law the phrase (and particularly the word "absolute") must now be considered obsolete and can not safely be relied upon by the Minister for Justice when dealing with questions of naturalisation and citizenship. assisted with the organisation of earlier Balls when he worked in London. Another leading Irish firmwith an office in London Matheson Ormsby Prentice supported the Ball once again and their corporate table was hosted by StanleyWatson, the firm's resident London partner. Two other major Irish law firms with offices in London are William Fry and A & L Goodbody. Both firms had very kindly sent me generous donations to benefit the NSPCC and A & L Goodbody was represented by partner Stephen Hamilton. It is very encouraging that the Ball has the support of the four Irish firms with offices in London. Newcomers to the Ball this year were Dublin firmDillon Eustace, who also took a corporate table. There were more partners from Dillon Eustace at the Ball than from any other law firm or institution! I hope that they will now become regular attendees. I was pleased that Justin McKenna, the incoming president of the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association was also at Finally, at an administrative level, it appears that applicants who apply for

it would appear that very wealthy non-EU Nationals willing to invest heavily in Irish companies for at least five years need not worry too much about the application of these Acts, their provisions are otherwise stringently applied to all aliens who seek to become Irish citizens. Again, it is interesting to examine the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914. In particular Section 2(1) of that Act empowered the Secretary of satisfied certain criteria set out in the Act. When we look at the equivalent provision in the Irish statute of 1956 (mainly Section 15), the Minister for Justice is conferred with an additional power to decide these matters as inserted by the phrase "in his absolute discretion". The use of this expression attempts to put decisions relating to the naturalisation of non-citizens State to grant a Certificate of Naturalisation to an alien who the first prize in the raffle was two return air tickets to New York, kindly donated by Aer Lingus. The tickets were won by an American couple living in London who were delighted to win the chance of a free trip home for Thanksgiving or Christmas! Other items in the raffle included a weekend for two at Ballymaloe House, two return tickets to Dublin on Virgin Atlantic CityJet and a superb piece of crystal donated by Bank of Ireland. There were many smaller items including a bottle of the 'hard stuff which had been donated by a new Irish "pub in London, Waxy O'Connor's! The raffle raised over £1,300. I was very grateful for the generosity of several major Irish law firms and commercial institutions, who supported the Ball by hosting corporate tables, taking advertisements in our souvenir programme, making financial donations or donating items for the raffle. As before, McCann FitzGerald were there in force, led by one of their London-based partners, John Cronin. Also there was RoddyBourke, a litigation partner in McCanns, who had

naturalisation in this country often find themselves waiting for very lengthy periods of time, up to two years in some cases, before receiving a negative reply. It is not unusual for a non-EEC national who has resided in the State for up to ten years to be refused without any stated reasons. No acknowledgement is given for the contribution such a person may have made to the State, in the form of taxes paid, investments made or other social contributions. Most EU countries have statutory mechanisms in place to deal with immigration and naturalisation cases by way of tribunals and appeals procedures. Such a mechanism in Ireland would guarantee fairness of treatment to all our immigrants while at the same time permitting the Minister for Justice to exercise her duty to protect the State in a reasonable and even-handed manner. • the Ball. The London-based partners of some of the leading New York firms were there, including Peter Finlay, an Irish solicitor who now runs the London office of White & Case. Peter Kelly SC was one of the many members of the Irish and English Bars present. Other major corporate attendees and contributors included Aer Lingus, AIB Bank, Anglo Irish Bankcorp, Bank of Ireland, Bord Failte, Irish Permanent and Virgin Atlantic CityJet. Thanks are due to all of them and to the many other supporters of the Ball, including the members of the Association who attend regularly. Irish solicitors and other Gazette readers who have not yet come to the Ball might consider doing so in future years! The best news of all is that the Ball succeeded in raising over £10,000 to benefit the NSPCC. My many sleepless nights in the run-up to the Ball were not in vain when the Ball produced such a wonderful result for this very worthwhile charity. *Cliona O'Tuama is President of the Irish Solicitors' Bar Association in London.

London Ball - continued from page 349 had been donated. As in previous years,

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