Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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47. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide an update on an application for a foreign birth registration (details supplied); if there is a reason for the delay with it; when the decision is expected to issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3208/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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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 or Naturalisation.

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.

FBR applications are currently being processed within the normal turnaround time of 8-9 months from receipt of all required supporting documents, a decrease in turnaround time of 75% from over two and a half years in 2022. Applications that require further supporting documents will take longer to process.

With regard to the specific Foreign Birth Registration application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service requested additional documents from the applicant in May 2023. The Passport Service received these documents in early January 2024. In line with processing times for additional documents requested, these documents will be reviewed by March 2024. The Passport Service will contact the applicant with an update at that point.