Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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282. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of a passport for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15320/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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All applications are subject to the provisions of the Passports Act, 2008 (the Act), which provides, among other things, that a person must be an Irish citizen before a passport can be issued to him/her. In order to meet this legal requirement, each person must demonstrate an entitlement to Irish citizenship in his/her application.

The applicant referred to was born on 11/2/2015. His entitlement to Irish citizenship is governed by the terms of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956 as amended (the 1956 Act). Section 6A of the Act 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 preceding his/her birth (a total of 1,095 days).

The parent of the child has made a declaration that she came to Ireland on 1/07/2012. As her period of residency in Ireland prior to the birth of the child is 955 days, the child’s entitlement to Irish citizenship has not been demonstrated and consequently the child is not entitled to an Irish passport. There is no discretion allowed under the Act for shorter periods of residency.

Ultimately as citizenship is a matter for the Department of Justice and Equality, it is open to the parent of the applicant to pursue the matter with that Department.

In the event that an application for naturalisation is successful and a naturalisation certificate issues, a new passport application may be submitted.