Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of the granting of a passport for Sofia, the child of Sinéad Deevy and Kashka Sankowska. This is in light of the fact that the Children and Family Relationships Bill has not been fully enacted, leaving Sofia effectively stateless and unable to travel home to Dublin.

Both Ireland and Poland have refused to acknowledge the existence of Sinéad's and Kashka's daughter because they are both women and are unable to obtain any documentation for their daughter, apart from her Spanish birth certificate which has both of their names on it. That does not, however, get Sofia any kind of passport or official identification. Their daughter remains stateless and as a result, they are unable to return home to Ireland or to travel anywhere else that involves a hard border. This is a clear violation of Articles 7, 21, 24 and 45 of EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and Articles 3, 7 and 8 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Chid. She has fallen through the legislative cracks of all these countries, rendering her illegal in every country. They have applied for Spanish citizenship, which is going nowhere at the moment. Both are now at the end of their wits and are truly concerned for Sofia's safety on so many levels, not least because she has no photographic identification saying who she is, thus, in reality, she does not exist. This is a very frightening reality for any parent.

We also know that the Minister, Deputy Harris, confirmed recently that he would be signing off on the pertinent regulations of the Child and Family Relationships Act 2015 which will recognise two mothers on a birth certificate from 2020. The parents have that. They are not looking for an Irish birth certificate but are looking for a temporary passport in order to bring their daughter home and, hopefully, to make it back in time for Christmas so that her 84 year old granny can welcome her home to Ireland.

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