Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 July 2021
154. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the way in which parents of newborn children who have been unable to register their child’s birth can travel with their child for essential reasons to other countries in the coming period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30917/21]
View answerThe Passport Service scaled up to more normal operational levels on 4 May 2021, in line with the phased easing of restrictions set out in “COVID-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021 – The Plan Ahead”.
The Passport Service has a great deal of experience in dealing with peaks in demand, and we are confident, taking into account measures to ensure a safe workplace, that the commitment made to clear all applications on hand at the end of April within 6-8 weeks is on target to be met. Simple Adult Renewals continue to be processed within 10 working days.
All passport applications are subject to the provisions of the Passports Act, 2008 ("The 2008 Act"). The 2008 Act provides, among other things, that a person must be an Irish citizen before a passport can be issued to him or her. In order to meet this requirement, each person must demonstrate an entitlement to Irish citizenship by providing acceptable documentary evidence of this entitlement.
Entitlement to Irish citizenship is determined by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, under which Irish citizenship may be obtained by birth, by descent, or by naturalisation.
Accordingly, the Passport Service is obliged to seek documentary evidence of Irish citizenship by birth, parentage/descent, or naturalisation before a passport application can be processed. It is not possible to recognise a person as an Irish citizen in the absence of such evidence.
The onus is on the applicant to provide documentation proving their entitlement to Irish citizenship. Birth Certificates which are issued by the General Register Office (GRO) must be submitted in support of a passport application to prove this entitlement. Neither baptismal certificates nor any other non-civil form of documentation can be considered in support of a first time passport application.
In the event that any applicant has urgent or emergency reasons for requiring a passport, the applicant should contact the Passport Service’s Customer Service Hub, by WebChat, to make the Passport Service aware of the situation.
