To the Minister for Justice and the Members of Dáil Éireann:

Ireland has always prided itself on its core values of fairness and fair play. However, the proposal to increase the residency requirement for citizenship from 5 to 8 years—and to apply it retrospectively—breaks a fundamental promise made to thousands of legal residents who keep this country moving forward.

We are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. We are professionals, essential workers, taxpayers, and neighbors who chose Ireland as our home. We moved here legally, invested our savings, planned our families' futures, and contributed honestly to the economy under a clear legal framework and mutual agreement: a reliable 5-year pathway to citizenship.                                     For the government to move the goalposts in the middle of our journey is deeply unjust. It punishes active integration and damages Ireland’s global reputation as a fair, stable place to live and work.

 You cannot build a stronger Ireland by leaving your hardest-working residents in a permanent state of legal uncertainty.We strongly urge the Irish Government to respect the original agreement and maintain the 5-year framework for all existing legal residents.