The proposal is still only in the earliest stages.
Any new Irish citizens may be required to pass an English language proficiency test, according to the Department of Justice.
The Irish Times report that a senior Department of Justice official said the language test for citizenship applicants was under consideration in order to ensure greater assimilation of immigrants into Irish society.
Raymond Murray, an assistant principal at the department, brought up the test as a possibility during Monday’s citizen ceremony, at which more than 3,500 people from over 160 countries were given Irish citizenship in Killarney.
This was due to the fact that some residents lacked English after having spent five years in Ireland.
A spokesperson from the Department of Justice told JOE that a language test is only one early option being considered by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service.
“INIS is examining language tests as just one option that is being considered,” the spokesperson said.
“Consideration is at a very early stage and no proposal has been brought to the Minister or to Government. There would be a consultation process before any changes of this nature are introduced.
“Any such change would be driven by a strategy to better integrate our newest citizens.”
The Department’s spokesperson went on to state that a Government Integration Strategy is currently being overseen by the Minister of State for Equality, Immigration and Integration, David Stanton.
“As part of that strategy, the Department of Justice and Equality has commissioned a two-year integration research programme to monitor migrant integration in employment, education, social inclusion and active citizenship. The research will map data gaps with respect to migrant integration and analyse spatial segregation patterns by ethnicity.
“This research will feed into the consideration of the future of integration of new citizens.”
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