Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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54. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is aware of a policy document relating to the use of DNA results in respect of applying for an Irish passport; to provide a copy of this document; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1692/25]

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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All passport applications are subject to the terms of the Passports Act, 2008, as amended (“the Act“). The Act provides, among other things, that a person must be an Irish citizen before a passport can be issued to that person. In order to meet this requirement, each passport applicant must demonstrate an entitlement to Irish citizenship by providing acceptable documentary evidence of this entitlement when making a first time passport application.

As set out in the Passport Service documentary requirements for all applications on my Department’s website, entitlement to Irish citizenship should be established via the presentation of relevant official documents. In certain exceptional circumstances, the Passport Service may accept DNA evidence for the purpose of establishing a passport applicant’s entitlement to Irish citizenship. Additional documentary evidence is also required before a decision to issue a passport is made.

The Passport Service's practice in relation on the use of DNA evidence to prove an entitlement to Irish citizenship is that, in the first instance, if a civil birth certificate or other document is not available or does not contain the correct or complete information, the applicant must make every effort to correct the public record.

The Passport Service does not routinely accept DNA evidence as proof of entitlement to Irish citizenship. It is only accepted in exceptional situations where the applicant has verified that they have exhausted all avenues in terms of providing official or civil documentary evidence of their citizenship entitlement and there are reasonable grounds to believe that DNA evidence may be able to establish citizenship entitlement.

If an applicant wishes to submit DNA evidence in support of their application, they should make contact with the Passport Service to obtain advice on identifying an acceptable test provider and to make appropriate arrangements. The testing laboratory must meet International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard ISO/IEC17025 accreditation.

All applications are dealt with on a case-by-case basis by the Passport Service and require considerable engagement with the applicant to ensure that the Passport Service is fully satisfied that an applicant has demonstrated their entitlement to citizenship.

A policy on the use of DNA evidence to prove an entitlement to Irish citizenship is currently under development, as part of a general update of Passport Service policies, and will be finalised in due course.

The Passport Service would be happy to assist any applicant who may have questions in relation to the submission of DNA evidence and has contacted the Deputy’s office directly in relation to this query.