Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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173. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to review the requirement for widowed parents to provide a sole guardianship affidavit for passport renewals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29095/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Where a child's guardian is deceased, the Passport Service requests the original death certificate of the deceased guardian, consent of the surviving guardian and a Sole Guardian Affidavit from the surviving guardian confirming that they are the only guardian of the child, in order to satisfy guardian consent requirements.

While the Passport Service of course recognises the difficulties this may present for bereaved families, in order to protect the integrity of the Irish passport and the rights of the child and their guardian(s), it is important that the Passport Service is satisfied that all relevant guardians have given their consent to the issuance of each passport to a child. This is set out under Section 14(1) of the Passports Act 2008, as amended.

I would encourage people who have specific queries around such matters to contact the Passport Service for guidance and support.

Further information is also available on my Department's website at