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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 31 Oct 1990

Vol. 402 No. 3

Written Answers. - Adopted Romanian Children.

Alan Shatter

Question:

39 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that over 50 children have been adopted in Romania by Irish couples in the past ten months; the arrangements he proposes to make for the issue of Irish passports for each of these children; and the number of such passports which have issued to date.

To date no applications for passport facilities on behalf of children who were recently adopted in accordance with the Romanian law on adoption have been received. No passports have, accordingly, been issued.

Such applications, when they are received, will be considered in accordance with the normal rules governing the issue of such facilities to children. These rules mainly relate to the establishment of the Irish citizenship of the children and the production of the written witnessed consent of the children's legal guardians.

As to the issue of citizenship, that of children adopted under Irish law is addressed in section 11 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956. As regards children adopted under non-Irish law, I understand that the Department of Justice is prepared to consider sympathetically applications for citizenship via naturalisation subject to certain conditions. Applications for passports on behalf of children adopted under Romanian law have, accordingly, to be accompanied by Certificates of Naturalisation and the children's Romanian birth certificates.
As regards the written witnessed consent of the adopted children's guardians, which is required in the case of all adopted children, such consent can only be accepted from persons whose legal status as guardians is recognised under Irish law. The Passport Office would, of course, be guided in such matters by the current law in the subject.
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