Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 698: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will arrange for the issue of temporary travel documentation in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33580/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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A person who has been granted full refugee status is entitled to apply for a travel document to enable him/her to travel outside the State. The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service advises me that while the person in question was refused refugee status following appeal, permission to remain in the State was granted in 2007. An alternative travel document may sometimes be issued in exceptional circumstances to a person who has been granted leave to remain in the State and does not have a passport. In such cases, the person concerned has to show that they have made reasonable and formal efforts to obtain a national passport and that it has been formally and unreasonably refused. Provision of original correspondence from the relevant consular authorities is an essential component when considering any temporary travel document application. A temporary travel document was issued to the person in question in May 2008 to help them obtain their national passport. In January 2009, a further request for a travel document was received, again with a view to procuring their national passport. The original travel document was renewed for a further nine months from 20 January 2009 to 19 October 2009. It remains open to the person in question to submit an application for a renewal of their temporary travel document accompanied with the relevant supporting documentation which should include original correspondence from the relevant consular authority outlining the steps necessary to be followed by the person to facilitate the procurement of a national passport if their presence is required outside the State. Any such application should be forwarded to the Travel Document Unit of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service which is located at 13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2.