Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 566: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if a person (details supplied) in County Galway, who was born in the United States of America and holds a US passport is entitled to an Irish passport in view of the fact that they have been living here for 68 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14677/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Irish passports are only issued to Irish citizens. There are four separate means by which a person, who is born outside Ireland, can obtain an Irish passport through citizenship. These are as follows:

(a) if the person in question has one Irish born parent, irrespective of where she was born, she is automatically an Irish citizen. She would, therefore, be entitled to an Irish Passport;

(b) she can claim Irish citizenship if, irrespective of where abroad she or her parents were born, one of her four grandparents was born in Ireland,

(c) likewise this would also apply if the person in question has one parent who, although not born in Ireland, was otherwise an Irish citizen at the time of her birth;

In order to claim citizenship as described at (b) or (c) above, she would be required to apply for registration in the Foreign Births Register. For this, she should apply to the Consular Section of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Iveagh House, St Stephens Green, Dublin 2.

(d) citizenship, through naturalisation, can be obtained by virtue of residency in Ireland over a period (usually five years) of residency. This process is managed by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, 14/16 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2.

The Department of Foreign Affairs will be very pleased to facilitate a passport application from the person when her right to Irish citizenship has been resolved.