Dana Claims US Citizenship 'No Problem'

Criticism over independent Presidential candidate Dana Rosemary Scallon becoming a US citizen nearly 15 years ago has erupted again.

Scallon has said she never mentioned that she became a US citizen prior to the 1997 presidential election because she "didn't think it would be a problem".

In order to become a US citizen Scallon had to take an oath and denounce her allegiance to any other state.

She has however said that she has dual nationality and despite what the media is portraying she claims she is not a deceptive person.

Scallon was scandalised three years ago when her sister claimed that her husband and her brother were involved in a decision not to tell the Irish pubic that Ms Scallon had become a US citizen prior to the 1997 presidential election campaign.

Ms Scallon's sister, Susan Stein, told a court in Iowa in 2008 that a decision was taken in 1997 not to make the fact public - because she said "it wouldn't look very good if the people of Ireland knew she was an American citizen".

Scallon however now claims that she cannot remember taking an oath in which she denounced allegiance to Ireland.

She has called the media "low ebb" to use a painful family dispute to tarnish her election campaign.

She has said that she thinks it would be an advantage for the incoming President to have close ties to the US.

Ms Scallon said: "I truly was never asked, I truly knew it wasn't a problem because a dual citizenship means you are a citizen of both countries.

"If I had been asked why would I want to hide it? I didn't think it was a problem to hide it and I don't think it is a problem now, in fact it is an advantage."

Scallon has found herself at the bottom of the polls. The Red C poll placed her on 5%, a drop of one since the last poll and last in the race.

(LB/CD)