Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 63: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the provision of Irish passports to adopted children, with reference to section 3 of the Irish passport application, which notes whether a person was born abroad and adopted under Irish law by an Irish citizen, and the explanatory notes which refer to documentary evidence that establishes the Irish citizenship of an adoptive parent at the time of adoption; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21250/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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1The Passports Act 2008 provides, inter alia, that the Minister for Foreign Affairs shall be satisfied that a person is an Irish citizen before a passport is issued to him/her. The Minister has no discretion in awarding a passport to an individual who is not an Irish citizen. Any person who was born abroad and whose citizenship basis is directly linked to an Irish adoptive parent must provide with his/her passport application his/her original certificate of entry in the Irish Adoption Board's Register of Foreign Adoptions plus documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, that show that at least one of the adoptive parent(s) was an Irish citizen at the time of the adoption.

This practice by the Passport Service ensures that the adoption itself is legal in terms of Irish law and that the applicant has demonstrated his/her entitlement to Irish citizenship in accordance with the requirements of the Passports Act 2008.