Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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366. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if a person (details supplied) is entitled to a passport or similar travel document to allow travel abroad; if not, the options available to the person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8429/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Passports Act, 2008 provides, among other things, that only Irish citizens are entitled to be issued with Irish passports. Each application received by the Passport Service must provide evidence that clearly demonstrates that person’s entitlement to Irish citizenship before a passport can issue.

The child in question was born in the State in 2005. His entitlement to Irish citizenship is, therefore, subject to the terms of section 6A of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, as amended (the Act). This provides that a person, born in the State on or after 1 January 2005, where neither parent is an Irish or British citizen or otherwise entitled to reside in the State or Northern Ireland without restriction at the time of that person’s birth, may claim citizenship by birth in the State (and thereby establish eligibility for an Irish passport) only where a parent has been lawfully resident in the State for three years of the four years preceding that person’s birth.

The Department of Justice and Equality, which is responsible for immigration and citizenship policy, provides guidelines on the proofs of lawful residence of a non-EU parent. These are accepted and considered by this Department for the purposes of passport applications and they include immigration stamps in passports or the registration cards/books which are given to persons registering with the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB). In some cases letters from GNIB which provide details of issued immigration stamps are also accepted. These are official documents which can be objectively verified by the Department.

If the parents of the child believe that they satisfy these criteria they should submit an application with supporting documentation to allow the Passport Service to evaluate the entitlement to an Irish passport.