Foreign Passports.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 March 2005

Thursday, 3 March 2005

Ceisteanna (160)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Ceist:

160 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the practice of the Nigerian Embassy here of asking Nigerian citizens to obtain a Garda report on a lost passport even when they have never lost their passport here; if his attention has been drawn to the practice of the Nigerian Embassy of charging €435 for passports which are needed for the residency applications and imposing a deadline of 28 February for persons applying for these passports; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that many applicants cannot afford the €435 fee; if he will be taking these issues up with the Nigerian Embassy; and the steps he has taken to resolve this matter. [7335/05]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell)

On 15 January 2005, I introduced revised arrangements for the making of applications by non-nationals for permission to remain on the basis of their parentage of a child born in Ireland prior to 1 January 2005. All applicants are required to provide adequate proof of their identity by way of a passport or national identity card.

Establishing the true identity of an applicant under the revised arrangements is a basic obligation, both on the State and the applicant. In this context, the requirement that an applicant produces an identity document from his or her country of origin cannot be waived. I wish to advise the Deputy that I have been made aware of reports that certain embassies may be charging particular amounts for the issue of passports to their nationals. However, the amount to be charged by a foreign embassy in this regard is not a matter for my Department, or for the Irish Government, to determine.