Asked by: Baroness McDonagh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to permit Irish citizens currently living in the UK to continue to do so following the UK’s exit from the EU.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The close historic, social and cultural ties between the UK and Ireland have led to the creation of additional rights above those associated with common membership of the EU. The special status afforded to Irish citizens within the UK is rooted in the Ireland Act 1949 and, for the people of Northern Ireland, in the 1998 Belfast Agreement. Leaders in the UK and Ireland have confirmed their commitment to protecting the rights enjoyed by UK and Irish nationals when in the other State.
We remain committed to preserving the rights of Irish citizens within the UK.