Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 1127: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform if a travel document will issue to a person (details supplied) in Dublin 8; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33005/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Travel Document Unit of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) informs me that the person referred to in the Deputy's Question currently has temporary permission to remain in the State until 13 July 2011. I am advised by INIS that only a person who has been granted full refugee status by the Minister for Justice and Law Reform is entitled to apply for a travel document to enable him/her to travel outside of the State.

In exceptional cases an application for Irish temporary travel document may be considered. In all such cases, INIS must be satisfied that there is no alternative open to the applicant before an Irish temporary travel document will issue. The person concerned has to show that they have made reasonable and formal efforts to obtain a national passport, that it has been formally and unreasonably refused and that their own consular authorities are unable to offer consular assistance to them whilst resident in the State. The person in question was refused an Irish temporary travel document on the 26 August 2010 and was advised to contact his own consular authorities.

It remains open to this person to submit a new application for a temporary travel document. Any new application submitted should be accompanied with the requisite supporting documentation inclusive of original written confirmation addressed to the person concerned from the DR Congo authorities in London confirming that they are unable to facilitate him with the issuance of a national passport whilst resident in this State. Applications for Irish temporary travel documents can be submitted to the Travel Document Unit, INIS, 13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2. Full information in this regard and the applicable application form are available at www.inis.gov.ie.

I should remind the Deputy that queries in relation to the status of individual Immigration cases may be made direct to INIS by Email using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. The service enables up-to-date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek this information through the more administratively expensive Parliamentary Questions process.