Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
744. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the reason for the lengthy delay in the processing of passports for children who have applied on the basis of reckonable residence of their parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42925/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Passports Act 2008, as amended, requires that before issuing a passport to a person, the Minister shall be satisfied that the person is an Irish citizen. Documentary evidence proving an applicant's identity and entitlement to citizenship are required in respect of all passport applications. Persons who were born in the State after 1 January 2005, where neither parent is an Irish or British citizen or otherwise entitled to reside without restriction in the State or in Northern Ireland, may claim citizenship by birth in the State (and thereby establish eligibility for a passport) only where a parent has a period of reckonable residency in the State for 3 years of the 4 years preceding their birth.
In order to prove the residency period of one of the parents when applying for a passport on behalf of their child, the parent must provide acceptable documentary evidence. The documents required to prove the residency period vary depending on whether the parent was an EU or non-EU citizen at the time of the child’s birth.
The Irish passport was recently ranked 6th in the Henley Global Passport Index as it provides our citizens with visa-free access to 187 countries. This is something we can all be proud of. However, in order to maintain this ranking and to protect the integrity of the Irish passport, the Passport Service must validate the true identity of the applicant and take measures to confirm the applicant’s entitlement to Irish citizenship, as outlined above. Accordingly, a rigorous analysis process is in place for first time applications.
In the case of children, it is essential that the Passport Service verifies the consent of the child’s guardians before a passport can issue. This ensures that the Passport Service protects the rights of the child and their guardians.
Due to the intensive analysis and extra measures undertaken by highly trained and experienced staff, first time applications take longer than renewals. First time applications currently take 20 working days to process. This is down from 40 working days since March. In cases of applications for children whose parents are applying on the basis of reckonable residency, the process can sometimes take longer due to the need to ensure that all of the required supporting documentation to prove the child’s entitlement to Irish citizenship is submitted and correct. Due to the complexity of the documents required to prove entitlement to citizenship, further documentation from the applicant's parents is sometimes requested by the Passport Service which can add to the processing time. A dedicated team of experienced staff processes these applications within the Passport Service.
While multiple detailed checks are necessary for such applications, once citizenship has been established and a first passport has been issued, all subsequent passport applications are processed as renewal applications.
There are currently 107,000 passport applications in the Passport Service system. Of these, 1,500 are first time applications of children whose parents are applying on the basis of reckonable residency. The Passport Service is working to reduce turnaround times further for these applications.
I strongly urge parents to carefully read the documentary requirements on my Department’s website and to apply for passports for their children online in plenty of time. Passport Online can be used for all first time applications, for both children and adults, and is available to 97% of our citizens around the world.
