Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 October 2019
273. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the way in which a person (details supplied) can regularise themselves when they cannot acquire either a Macedonian or Irish passport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39646/19]
View answerI am advised by the Immigration Service of my Department that the person concerned currently has permission to remain in the State on stamp 4 conditions until 30 May 2021.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the requirement to present a current passport in order to obtain a Public Services Card is a matter that the person will need to address with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.
The Deputy may wish to note that the onus rests with the person concerned to seek to obtain their own national passport or travel document from the authorities of their country of origin. It would not be appropriate for the Irish Authorities to intercede in such matters.
If the person concerned is required to be present outside the State they should contact their Consular authorities requesting an Emergency Travel Document (Laissez-Passer) to facilitate travelling to obtain a national passport. The person concerned should therefore contact their nearest Embassy in this regard.
If the person concerned is unable to procure an Emergency Travel Document from his authorities, it remains open to them to seek a temporary travel document from my Department, to facilitate travel to obtain a passport. However; any application submitted must be accompanied with supporting documentation from their own authorities addressed to them and stating why they cannot issue or assist with procuring the passport.
If the person concerned does not receive any response from their own authorities, they should submit proof of attempts to contact same. Any application submitted that does not include the supporting documentation, referred to above, will be refused as all applicants must show that they have made every effort to procure their own national passport.
Queries in relation to the status of individual Immigration cases may be made directly to the Immigration Service of my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from the Immigration Service is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
