Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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116. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason a person (details supplied) has been refused an Irish passport; if he will review the appeal which has been subsequently lodged; if there is an avenue through which this person can secure an Irish passport without having to engage in the naturalisation process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49762/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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All passport applications are subject to the provisions of the Passports Act 2008. The Act provides, among other things, that a person must be an Irish citizen before a passport can be issued to him/her. Entitlement to Irish citizenship is in turn determined by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, under which and in general, Irish citizenship may be obtained by birth, by descent, or by naturalisation. I am advised by the Passport Service that the application form submitted in respect of this person’s application selected post nuptial citizenship as the category of citizenship to which the person belonged. In order to meet the requirement of the Passports Act 2008, each person must demonstrate an entitlement to Irish citizenship by providing acceptable documentary evidence of this entitlement. Post nuptial citizenship was repealed with effect from 30 November 2005. The Passport Service will accept a valid post-nuptial certificate as evidence of citizenship if this post nuptial certificate was awarded prior to November 30 2005. Currently, there is no provision for the spouse of an Irish citizen to acquire Irish citizenship solely by virtue of marriage and there is no provision to apply for post nuptial citizenship retrospectively. Spouses of Irish citizens without any other claim to Irish citizenship (such as, for example, citizenship by descent) may apply for naturalisation if they wish to establish Irish citizenship. Naturalisation comes under the auspices of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service within the Department of Justice and Equality. Details of how to apply for citizenship through naturalisation can be found at their website www.inis.gov.ie

The Passport Service has been in correspondence with the person in question with regard to the requirements which need to be fulfilled for their application to resume. No formal appeals, as outlined by section 19 of the Passports Act 2008, have been lodged with the Passport Service in respect of this application. The appeals procedure does not apply where a passport application has been refused on the basis that the entitlement to citizenship has not been demonstrated.