Sir, – Why is the Government considering a policy that risks alienating people that Ireland urgently needs to retain (“Rules for seeking citizenship to be tightened under new proposals”, News, September 7th)?I am Irish by birth but my partner is an immigrant approaching five years in Ireland and is training to become a consultant anaesthesiologist. On Monday morning, she came off a night shift to learn that the goalposts on her path towards security, permanence and our future together might be moved.At midnight, she had sat in a hospital canteen surrounded by mainly international colleagues. They are integrated, self-sufficient and trusted to care for patients at their most vulnerable. Yet the proposed change risks making them feel that despite everything they contribute they are not wanted as citizens.What message does Ireland wish to send to people who have done everything asked of them and spent years building lives here, only to find the prospect of permanence moved three years further away?At the very least, those on the existing pathway deserve fair transitional arrangements. – Yours, etc,SÉIN HEALY,Lucan, Co Dublin.