Irish members of parliament will discuss whether to ban Donald Trump from Ireland in the next few weeks, according to Journal.ie.
Two petitions have been lodged to ban him and will be considered by the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions, which means both the Dail, the lower house, and the Senate will take part.
The Trump petitions were submitted last month after Trump’s comments about banning Muslims from America.
At the time the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny described the comments as “not acceptable” while opposition leader Michael Martin criticized the fawning welcome Trump received from Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan when he arrived in Ireland in a Trump jet to announce his takeover of Doonbeg Golf Club.
One petition was drawn up by a woman named Elaine Mernagh and is entitled ‘Ban Donald Trump from Ireland.’ The other one one from Mr Aniq Jawad demands politicians to ‘Ban Donald Trump from Entering Ireland.’
Experts say the petitions will be hard to pass but are sure to prompt major debate and resultant publicity.
TheJournal.ie notes that the petitions system, which is aimed at giving voters a direct influence in parliamentary business, was introduced in September 2012.
Once the committee considers the case it can then be brought up directly with the relevant government minister or secretary general of the relevant department. The Minister can be called before the committee to face questions on the matter.
In Britain, a petition signed by 500,000 to ban Trump after his Muslim comments will be discussed in parliament on January 18 and is expected to set off a major debate.
Trump bought the Doonbeg Resort and Country Club out of bankruptcy in February 2014. It is set on 400 acres in County Clare and has a 25 mile coastline and world class golf club. It has been renamed Trump International.
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