Vol. 530 No. 6
131 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will consider allowing the parents of children who are retarded or disabled the option of including the child on their own passport to reduce cost and the need to process a second application. [4871/01]
Children under the age of 16 may be included on the passports of one or both of their parents, at the time of issue, at no additional cost. They may travel on those passports, with the passport holders, up to their sixteenth birthdays.
The general international practice, based on a recommendation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, a specialised agency of the United Nations, is that once children reach the age of 16 they must, if travelling abroad, other than to Britain, hold passports of their own. Persons of any age travelling in a group of up to 50 as part of an organised pilgrimage may avail of a group passport, only one fee of £45 having to be paid.
