Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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119. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the options available to a person (details supplied) to obtain an Irish passport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3814/19]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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All passport applications are subject to the provisions of the Passports Act, 2008 as amended (“the Act”). The Act provides that a person must, among other things, be an Irish citizen before a passport can be issued to him or her.

Entitlement to Irish citizenship is in turn determined by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1965, as amended, under which and in general, Irish citizenship may be obtained by birth on the island of Ireland if born prior to 01 January 2005 and after that date to parents meeting specified requirements by descent or by naturalisation.

A person born outside of Ireland to a parent who was born in Ireland and who was an Irish citizen at the time of their birth, automatically becomes an Irish citizen.

A person can become an Irish citizen if:

1. One of their grandparents was born in Ireland, or;

2. One of their parents was an Irish citizen at the time of their birth, even though they were not born in Ireland.

In these cases, a person may become an Irish citizen through Foreign Birth Registration. Once a person is entered onto the Foreign Births Register they are an Irish citizen and entitled to apply for an Irish passport.

A person may apply for Irish citizenship by way of naturalisation if they meet certain requirements as set down by the Department of Justice and Equality.