Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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263. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if and when the appropriate travel document will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Laois who needs to travel to an embassy to obtain a replacement passport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4059/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department advises me that, in exceptional cases, an application for Irish temporary travel document may be considered in respect of qualifying non-Irish nationals who are resident in Ireland. 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.

I am informed by INIS that the person concerned had an application for an Irish temporary travel document refused on 21 December 2015 because it was not accompanied by sufficient supporting documentation from their own consular authorities demonstrating that they were unable or unwilling to assist with the procurement of a new passport. Supporting documentation submitted stated that their embassy had not yet decided on an appropriate date for a representative to visit Ireland to address their concerns.

The reasons for refusal were further clarified by email to the person concerned on 8 January 2016 by the Travel Document Unit of INIS in which it was suggested that they impress their own authorities to offer some meaningful consular assistance in relation to their passport procurement difficulties being encountered with their embassy to date. It remains open to the person in question to submit a new application for a temporary travel document accompanied by the relevant supporting documentation addressing the reasons for refusal to the Travel Document Unit of INIS which is located at 13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2. Full information in this regard and the applicable application form is available at www.inis.gov.ie.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up-to-date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from the INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.