Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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34. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Constitution, how many Irish citizens have applied for permission to receive a title from a foreign state, in tabular form, since the constitution came into being, broken down by year; whether such an application was accepted or not; and the state that proposed to grant the title. [54042/23]

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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35. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade what penalties, if any, exist for those who are in breach of Article 40.2.2 of the Constitution and accept foreign titles without Irish Government permission. [54043/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 34 and 35 together.

Article 40.2.2 of the Constitution states that “No title of nobility or of honour may be accepted by any citizen except with the prior approval of the Government.” The reference to "title of nobility or of honour" has been interpreted, in accordance with advice from the Attorney General, as referring to honours conferred by or on behalf of a sovereign authority, the recipients of which become entitled, by the law or custom of the foreign State in question, to use prefixes to their names such as “Sir”, “Dame”, “Lord” or "Marquis”.

It is these types of award which are considered by Government. If a foreign Government wishes to make any such award to an Irish citizen, the standard practice is that the relevant accredited diplomatic mission would notify my Department in advance of the conferral of the award. It is noted that rights, privileges or dignities deriving from the award of a title of nobility or honour subsist solely within the jurisdiction conferring it and any other jurisdiction that may recognise rights, privileges or dignities as flowing from it. Under Irish law, such a title has no significance in terms of conferring rights, entitlements or dignities.

In addition, awards which provide for the use of letters or marks of distinction after one's name or involve the presentation of medals, ribbons or academic honours are not regarded as conferring a title of nobility or of honour in this context.

Based on a review of records held by my Department and compiled in the time available, the table below lists instances over the past thirty years where the Government has considered such awards. Information prior to this time period was not possible to obtain in the time available.

In the cases of awards conferred by the UK, the recipients of the awards in each instance have been dual Irish-British citizens.

In relation to seven of the instances summarised below, listed in the table as “No Decision”, the honours in question were extended to the Irish citizens concerned before the conferral was brought to the attention of the Government. No facility exists for retrospective approval by the Government in these instances and currently there are no penalties or other sanctions for failing to obtain prior approval of the Government pursuant to Article 40.2.2 of the Constitution. However, my Department regularly reminds the authorities of countries concerned that the prior approval of the Government should be sought in instances where awards of the nature outlined in Article 40.2.2 of the Constitution are to be conferred on an Irish citizen.