Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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611. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the current position in regard to update of stamp 4-eligibility for naturalisation in the case of the children of a person (details supplied) in County Meath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32839/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I have been informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS), of my Department that there is no record of an application for a Certificate of Naturalisation having being submitted on behalf of the children of the first and second person concerned. Where sections 6A and 6B of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, are applicable, a child born in the island of Ireland on or after 1 January 2005 has an entitlement to Irish citizenship if, at the time of the birth of the child, one of his or her parents had, during the period of 4 years immediately preceding the person's birth, been resident in the island of Ireland for a period of not less than 3 years or periods the aggregate of which is not less than 3 years. Periods of unlawful residence, periods of residence which were for the sole purpose of having an application for refugee status determined or periods of residence where permission was granted for the purposes of study are excluded from the determination of periods of reckonable residence. Entitlement of a child to Irish citizenship is determined by the Passport Office following receipt of an application for a passport on the child's behalf.Where a child born in the State did not at birth have an entitlement to Irish citizenship, the parent or guardian or person who is in loco parentis to the child may lodge an application for naturalisation on behalf of the child if and when the conditions for naturalisation are satisfied.

With regard to the residency situation of the children, the general position is that permission to remain in the State in respect of children under the age of 16 is granted in line with that granted to their parents. However, I am advised that there is very little information on the parents case files in respect of the children over the past number of years. In order to update their situation, the parents may write to the INIS c/o PO Box 10003, Dublin 1, on behalf of the children and provide documentation, preferably to include original birth certificates, original passports, two passport size photos (signed on the back) and attendance letter from schools to prove continuous residency in the State. Upon receipt of the appropriate documentation, the cases of the children will be examined by the relevant officials in the INIS and a decision communicated to them in due course.

Queries in relation to the Status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up-to-date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from the INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.