Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

733. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the information required for a person (details supplied) to obtain a passport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1550/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

A passport application for this child was received by the Department on 29 May, 2012. However, it could not be finalised for passport issue under the Passports Act, 2008 on the grounds that his entitlement to Irish citizenship had not been demonstrated. The Department wrote to the applicant’s mother on three occasions about the application. The key points of this correspondence were:

(i) citizenship entitlement is based on s.6A of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956 as amended. This requires three years actual lawful residence on the part of the child’s mother within a four year period preceding the child’s date of birth;

(ii) the evidence submitted by her only established reckonable residence (for the purposes of section 6A of the Act) for her from June, 2010 to January, 2012. The amount of her reckonable residence did not meet the statutory requirement of three years;

(iii) further evidence of the mother’s residence from February, 2008 to May 2010 was needed to finalise her son’s application. She was requested to provide this evidence. She was advised of the range of evidence that was acceptable to the Department for this purpose. This includes:

(a) tax records (i.e. P60s and/or P45s);

(b) Original copies of rent leases or bank mortgage repayments;

(c) employment pay slips; or

(d) record of social welfare benefit payments.