In the course of the speech made by Mr. Costello, the Prime Minister of Eire, on the second reading of the Republic of Ireland Bill on the 24th November in the Dail, he said:
“In the new Bill provisions will be made to ensure that Commonwealth citizens shall be afforded comparable rights to those afforded to our citizens in the British Commonwealth. There is one thing I should like to make clear to our friends in Britain and in the Commonwealth generally; it is that after the passage of this Bill we will continue, provided they so desire, the exchange of citizenship rights and privileges. Ireland does not now, and when the External Relations Act is repealed, Ireland does not intend to, regard their citizens as foreigners or their countries as foreign countries. Throughout, the position of the Irish Government is, that while Ireland is not a member of the British Commonwealth of nations, it recognises and confirms the existence of a specially close relationship arising not only from ties of friendship and kinship but from traditional and long established economic, social and trade relations based on common interests with the nations that form the British Commonwealth. This exchange of rights and privileges, which it is our firm desire and intention to maintain and strengthen, in our view constitutes a special relationship which negatives the view that other countries could raise valid objections on the grounds that Ireland should be treated as a foreign country by Britain and the Commonwealth countries for the purpose of this exchange of rights and privileges. These are the considerations which we put forward to Britain and the Commonwealth countries. We find that they, on their part, were equally determined not to regard the passage of this Bill as placing Ireland in the category of foreign countries or our citizens in the category of foreigners, but were prepared to continue the exchange of citizenship and trade preference rights. Accordingly, the factual exchange of rights that has existed hither to will continue unimpaired. By reason of the fact that we have eliminated from this exchange controversial forms, we may reasonably hope that a greater spirit of goodwill and co-operation will actuate this factual relationship.”