Jack Wall
Question:65. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will consider the following regarding an Irish passport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1829/13]
View answerWednesday, 16 January 2013
Questions (65)
Written answers
As you may be aware, all passport applications are subject to the provisions of the Passports Act, 2008 (the Act). This broadly provides that a person must be an Irish citizen and that his/her identity is known to the Minister for Foreign Affairs before a passport can issue to that person. Section 6(2)(a) and (b) of the Act provides that:
“(2) An application for the issue of a passport to a person shall be –
made in such form as may be specified by the Minister for that type of passport,
accompanied by such information and documents in relation to the person as the Minister may require under section 7, ….”
This legal provision underpins the information contained in the Application Form Notes that accompanies each application form. It is long-standing passport policy to require original long- form civil birth certificates in respect of passport applications for first-time applicants. These documents confirm the details of a person’s birth name, date and place of birth, all of which are critical components of a person’s identity. These also demonstrate a person’s entitlement to Irish citizenship and in the case of children, information regarding the names of their legal guardians. The latter is important because under the Act, the consent of a child’s guardians is required before a passport can issue to any child.
In this child’s case, applications for a passport were made on her behalf by her mother in February, 2008 to the Irish Embassy in London and in May, 2009 to the Passport Office in Balbriggan. On both occasions, the applications could not be finalised because the child’s long form civil birth certificate had not been submitted. The absence of this document meant that the Department could not establish for the purposes of the Act that she was a citizen. Moreover, her identity could not be verified or whether proper guardian consent had been obtained.
Among the documents, submitted in the previous applications, were
(i) a certificate from a doctor at the hospital where the child was born. This could not be accepted as it provided no details in regard to the child’s name or her father. Moreover, its legal status in terms of Spanish civil registration law has not been established by the child’s mother.
(ii) a temporary Irish travel document, which was issued to this child by the Honorary Consul of Ireland in Bilbao in September 2005. In this case the temporary document issued on the basis that it was probable that the child was an Irish citizen and to allow sufficient time for all the necessary documents be provided to allow the issue of a permanent passport.
There is a legal obligation that any future passport for this child must be compliant with the Act. This means that the child’s mother needs to obtain a certificate from the Spanish authorities of the registered details of her daughter’s birth. The applicant’s mother has been previously advised of this requirement by officials of the Passport Service. To this end, I understand that the applicant’s mother has been in contact with the Honorary Consul of Ireland in Alicante and the Spanish Embassy in Dublin to help her obtain a birth certificate for her daughter. These efforts are ongoing. Once a birth certificate is received, the Department should be in a position to issue a passport on receipt of a fully complete application.
From this process, the status of the father as a possible guardian of the child can be determined. Heretofore, the child’s mother has claimed to be the child’s sole guardian.
The issue of a passport is the culmination of an important and legally-binding process. The series of checks and balances within that process embraces the standard principles, provided for in the Passports Act, of ensuring that the identity of the applicant is known and that the person in question is an Irish citizen. The receipt of civil documents, which can be verified, is an important aspect of this system, which helps to maintain the worldwide good reputation and integrity of the Irish passport, which in turn ensures the safe travel and wellbeing of Irish citizens, as they travel abroad.