Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 9: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 11 of 2 November 2011, if a decision has been reached in respect of an application for an Irish passport in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38597/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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As I indicated in my reply to the Deputy's question on 2 November, 2011, this case has been the subject of detailed legal considerations. The core issue of the case centres on her entitlement to Irish citizenship. This entitlement is directly dependent on the amount of her mother's residence in the State that is reckonable for the purposes of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956 as amended (the Act). On the evidence of immigration stamps, which were issued to the applicant's mother, the amount of reckonable residence is insufficient to demonstrate her daughter's entitlement to Irish citizenship. However, the additional evidence of a letter, dated 24 March, 2009, from the then Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform was presented in support of the application. If the additional residence arising from this evidence was deemed to be reckonable for the purposes of the Act, the applicant's entitlement to Irish citizenship (and thereby a passport), would be demonstrated. This aspect has been the subject of a High Court judgement, which was delivered on 9 July 2010 by Justice Ryan in Sulaimon v. Minister for Justice . The interpretation of this judgement has been the subject of discussions between my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality, the latter of which is responsible for citizenship and immigration matters. These discussions were later extended to include officials from the Offices of the Attorney General and the Chief State Solicitor.

From this meeting it has emerged that the judgement poses a number of difficulties in terms of its implementation in the area of citizenship and immigration, which will feature in a Supreme Court appeal. I understand that the Department for Justice and Equality is now seeking an appeal of this judgement at the earliest opportunity.

I can confirm that this application falls in this category and officials of my Department have referred the case to the Department of Justice and Equality. While I appreciate that this situation will be disappointing for the applicant's mother, I can assure the Deputy that if the applicant succeeds in obtaining a certificate of nationality for her daughter, the Passport Service will issue a passport to her as a matter of priority.