Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 29 Apr 1997

Vol. 478 No. 4

Written Answers. - Issue of Passports.

Noel Dempsey

Question:

30 Mr. Dempsey asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the reason a person (details supplied) in County Meath will not be allowed to include her son's name on her passport without the written consent of the child's father in spite of the fact that she is a single parent rearing the child on her own, the child's father has never accepted any responsibility for the child and his name is not on the birth certificate; and if he will make a statement on the changes, if any, he proposes to make to alter this situation. [11295/97]

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Spring)

The consent of the father of a child whose parents were never married to each other is not required for passport purposes unless he has acquired joint guardianship centers through a court order.

The Passport Office is not automatically aware of situations where a father is appointed a joint guardian by a court. Accordingly, if a mother seeking passport facilities for a child claims to be a single parent, the normal practice of the Passport Office is to ask her to sign an affidavit to the effect that she is the child's sole legal guardian and that no other person has been appointed a guardian by a court or by operation of law.

On the basis of the details provided by the Deputy it would appear that this person can have her child's name included in a new passport by submitting a signed affidavit for which a special form is available from the Passport Office together with the standard documentation and fee.