Vol. 567 No. 6
159 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if there are restrictions placed on the issuing or renewal of passports to ex-prisoners; and if so, the circumstances in which a prisoner may be refused a passport. [14924/03]
Any Irish citizen is entitled to seek an Irish passport. There are very limited circumstances in which the Department of Foreign Affairs may refuse to grant a passport, primarily: where an Irish court order expressly and specifically prohibits the issuance of a passport to a particular citizen, including where a person has been released by the courts on condition that he or she does not leave the jurisdiction; where the Department's records show that a person has fraudulently claimed Irish citizenship, has fraudulently acquired or misused an Irish passport or has a history of losing Irish passports; and in the case of minors, where explicit written witnessed consent by parents or legal guardians is not produced.
A passport would generally not be issued to a person while he or she is in prison. However, upon release, an ex-prisoner would be free to seek and be granted a passport unless there is some circumstance as outlined above which would disbar this.
