Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

136. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of a foreign birth registration of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21754/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department is responsible for processing Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications for people who are born abroad and claim Irish citizenship through a grandparent born in Ireland or through a parent who has claimed citizenship also through FBR, Naturalisation or Post Nuptial Citizenship.

Demand for this service increased significantly as a result of the Brexit vote in the UK. The service was also impacted by necessary Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021 and the unprecedented demand for passports seen in 2022.

FBR applications are currently being processed within the normal turnaround time of between 6 and 9 months from receipt of supporting documents. Applications which require further supporting documents will take longer to process.

Foreign Birth Registration, by its nature, is a detailed and complex process, often involving official documentation relating to three generations and issued by several jurisdictions. Such documents take considerable time to validate.

With regard to the specific Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications about which the Deputy has enquired, these applications were registered on 24 October 2019. The applications were initially processed on 14 June 2021, at which point the Passport Service requested further supporting documents.

Further supporting documents were received for the applications in April 2023, and have been processed. However, the applications remain incomplete. A member of the FBR team will contact the applicants' parent to outline the outstanding documentation that is required in order for the applications to proceed.