Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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445. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the eligibility for an Irish passport in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45819/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As you may be aware, all passport applications are subject to the provisions of the Passports Act 2008 (“the Act”). The Act 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 passport application.

Entitlement to Irish citizenship is governed by Irish law and in particular the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, under which and in general, Irish citizenship may be obtained by birth in the island of Ireland to parents meeting specified requirements, by descent, or by naturalisation.

Accordingly in any application for a passport, the individual concerned would have to establish and demonstrate an entitlement to Irish citizenship before a passport could be issued by my Department. From the information provided, it is not possible to say whether the person concerned holds or may be eligible for Irish citizenship.

Further information on eligibility for an Irish passport is available at .

The Department of Justice and Equality holds responsibility for citizenship including naturalisation. Further information on naturalisation is available at .