I’m married to an Irish citizen. Can I become one?

Up until 2005, spouses of Irish citizens living abroad could apply for what was called Post-Nuptial Citizenship Provision.
That meant that you could apply for Irish citizenship through your marriage without having to live in Ireland.
But that’s all changed now.
Then Minister for Justice John O’Donoghue (who recently resigned as Ceann Comhairle after revelations about his lavish expenses bill) introduced the changes to the laws governing spouses after uncovering some evidence of sham marriages in Britain.
The government introduced radical changes which has had the result of making it significantly more difficult for spouses of Irish nationals to gain citizenship.
Say you’re from Perth and you meet an Irish backpacker. You fall in love, get married and decided to stay in Australia. You have a baby together. The baby is an Irish citizen as he or she is the child of an Irish citizen, but you can never hold an Irish passport unless you move to Ireland.
Even then, you have to spend a minimum of three years living in Ireland and make a declaration of intent “to continue to reside in Ireland after naturalisation”.
While the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has power (in his or her absolute discretion) to waive one or more of the conditions in the case “of a non – national spouse of an Irish citizen applying for naturalisation if satisfied that the applicant would suffer serious consequences in respect of his or her bodily integrity or liberty if not granted Irish citizenship”.
This would not apply to Australians or New Zealanders one would think.
Of course, if you happen to have an Irish grandparent you can apply for Irish citizenship at any time without setting foot in the country.
For more information, see http://www.inis.gov.ie/