By Fionnán Sheahan, Political Correspondent
DIRECT evidence of "citizenship tourism" is revealed in documentation obtained by the Irish Examiner.The correspondence shows the Government was informed last summer that an increasing number of non-nationals from Eastern European countries and Arab states were attempting to book places in maternity hospital before travelling to this country for delivery.

The letter of warning was sent to Health Minister Miche�l Martin and Justice Minister Michael McDowell by the Master of the National Maternity Hospital, Dr Declan Keane.

Last night, Dr Keane said the practice of non-national parents seeking advance bookings had declined since then, but the number of non-EU nationals coming to avail of the lax citizenship laws continues to increase.

The documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act support Mr McDowell's claim that citizenship tourism is a growing phenomenon that needs to be closed off through the forthcoming referendum.

While Dr Keane's letter in July 2003 does not quantify the exact level of abuse of the citizenship laws, he did provide an example of how an increasing number of people were trying to make direct contact with the hospital in an attempt to make bookings and obtain visas for their visit to Ireland.

Attached to the letter is a fax from a Ukrainian oil industry businessman, Victor Tkachenko, seeking to book in his pregnant wife for delivery later in the year and also seeking advice on when she has to arrive in Ireland for her first appointment, the medical documents required, the duration of the stay for delivery, the cost of the service and visa support.

"It seems regrettable that since the Supreme Court decision earlier this year there has been no decrease in the number of non-nationals attending Ireland, and Dublin in particular. In fact the numbers only continue to increase," Dr Keane wrote on July 24.

Last night, Dr Keane said the number of these letters has dropped off as the word has gone out that these bookings are not accepted.

Dr Keane also said he had contacted the ambassador of one of the Arab states requesting that his embassy staff stop assisting citizens from that country in making advance bookings.

Primarily concerned about the medical dangers for heavily pregnant women travelling long distances and the pressures these often complicated births are putting on hospitals, Dr Keane said he believes up to half of the non-EU nationals giving birth at the hospital are attempting to avail of the citizenship laws particularly wealthy Eastern Europeans and Nigerians.

"The only difference is they don't phone ahead, they just show up," he said.

The number of non-national births at Holles Street has risen from 21% in 2003 to 24% in the first four months of 2004.

Contacted yesterday by the Irish Examiner at his Odessa office, Mr Tkachenko said he ultimately decided not to send his wife to Ireland to give birth, as his primary motivation was the quality of medical care.

Describing the passport provision as "an additional plus" to the Irish system, he said he had associates whose wives did come to Ireland to give birth, solely to avail of the citizenship laws.

"I know two acquaintances whose main reason was to get a passport for their child," he said.

Saying Ireland's citizenship laws were well known abroad in his experience, Mr Tkachenko said the mothers in these cases returned to Russia and the Ukraine after giving birth.

"Of course they did. They just wanted to have a second type of passport in the family," he said.