Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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323. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the immigration penalties that are enforced on those that apply for asylum under false pretences. [8656/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The establishment of a person’s identity and nationality is an important feature of our immigration process generally. When it comes to international protection applicants, each person that enters the process is fingerprinted and photographed. These fingerprints are checked against EURODAC, an EU immigration database which stores the fingerprints of asylum applicants and those who have crossed borders illegally.

An assessment of the person's identity and the credibility of their application forms part of the international protection application and where this is not established the application may be refused, either at first stage or appeal, and a person will then be subject to removal from the State. Refugee or subsidiary protection may also revoked where misrepresentation or omission of facts, whether or not including the use of false documents, by the person was decisive in the decision to give the person such status.

The Deputy will appreciate that the question of prosecution of any offences relating to identity is a matter for the Garda authorities.