A review into the use of DNA evidence by applicants seeking to secure Irish passports is under way.
The Government is drawing up a policy on how this would work.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said this formed part of a general update of Passport Service policies, and would be finalised in due course.
At present the Passport Service does not routinely accept DNA evidence as proof of entitlement to Irish citizenship.
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“It is only accepted in exceptional situations where the applicant has verified that they have exhausted all avenues in terms of providing official or civil documentary evidence of their citizenship entitlement and there are reasonable grounds to believe that DNA evidence may be able to establish citizenship entitlement,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
But even then “additional documentary evidence is also required before a decision to issue a passport is made”.
At present the Passport Service’s practice in relation to the use of DNA evidence to prove an entitlement to Irish citizenship is that, in the first instance, if a civil birth certificate or other document is not available or does not contain the correct or complete information, the applicant must make every effort to correct the public record.
“If an applicant wishes to submit DNA evidence in support of their application, they should make contact with the Passport Service to obtain advice on identifying an acceptable test provider and to make appropriate arrangements. The testing laboratory must meet International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) standard ISO/IEC17025 accreditation,” the department said.
All applications are dealt with on a case-by-case basis by the Passport Service and require considerable engagement with the applicant to ensure the Passport Service is fully satisfied an applicant has demonstrated their entitlement to citizenship, it added.
Overall, more than a million passports were issued last year – the centenary year of the Irish passport – representing the second highest number issued in one year.
Demand for Irish passports among those with Irish heritage has increased in recent years. A total of 75,951 Irish passports were issued to Northern Ireland residents, for example, in 2017, compared with 65,716 in 2016 and 52,861 in 2015, the year before the Brexit vote.
A total of 19,358 people living in the US were issued with an Irish passport in 2017, some 11,727 of them claiming citizenship by descent. In 2016, 16,148 people living in the US at the time of their application were granted Irish passports.
