Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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700. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if the Irish citizen child unit can waive its usual requirement to submit a child’s passport with the application in which entitlement to Irish citizenship can be established through other means, for example birth in Ireland to an Irish citizen parent given the current long delays in processing first-time applications in the passport office. [50907/21]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I understand that the Deputy's question relates to applications under the Zambrano judgment, whereby a non-EEA national who is the biological parent of a minor dependent Irish Citizen Child living in Ireland, can be granted residency rights in Ireland.

Where an application is submitted to my Department, which contains all required documentation except a valid Irish passport for the Irish citizen child, due to delays in the Passport Office, applications may be accepted and processed in the following circumstances where there is:

- clear evidence that the child is entitled to an Irish passport i.e. bio data page of the Irish citizen parents passport;

- substantial evidence of the relationship between the applicant and the other biological parent of the child;

- evidence of a passport application that is ongoing, with evidence of the expected time frame of same.

To maintain the integrity of the application process, applications are required at a minimum to meet the above criteria.

If there are other concerns arising from an application with regard to the right to an Irish passport, applications may be returned/not accepted or refused on that basis, and an application only accepted when the child holds a valid Irish passport.