Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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159. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 221 of 25 September 2014, the way a person (details supplied) in County Wexford may proceed with an application for citizenship through the foreign births registration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40697/14]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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My Department has been in frequent contact with this person in an effort to assist her with the application for citizenship through Foreign Birth registration. In cases such as this, the applicant is required to submit the Irish born grandparent’s birth, marriage and death certificates (if appropriate), the birth and marriage certificate of the parent through whom they are applying for citizenship and the birth certificate of the applicant. This applicant has submitted all the required documentation. However, on examination there was a discrepancy between the Irish grandparent’s date of birth on the birth certificate and the age on the marriage certificate and the date of birth as recorded on the death certificate. In all such applications, where eligibility relies on an Irish born grandparent, the grandparent’s date of birth should be consistent in all documentation and the age at which he/she got married should be consistent with the date of birth on the birth certificate.

In this case the age at marriage of the grandparent is consistent with the date of birth on the death certificate, 15 August 1929. However, the date of birth on the birth certificate is 10 August 1927. This discrepancy must be explained in order to demonstrate the applicant’s link to the Irish born grandparent.

My Department is working closely with the applicant in order to identify documentation available to the applicant which can address this matter. The Consular Division of my Department will continue to assist the applicant and will be happy to expedite the application as soon as the remaining issues have been resolved.