Statutory provisions have been made in the Passports Act 2008 where it is sought to include a name on the passport that differs from the name (or version of name) on the birth certificate. The relevant passage from the Act is as follows:
10.—
- Subject to this section and section 11, a passport issued under this Act shall be in the name of the applicant for a passport concerned as it appears in his or her certificate of birth (whether in the English language or the Irish language) or, as may be appropriate, a certificate of naturalisation or other document produced by him or her to the Minister as evidence of Irish citizenship.
- Subject to this Act, the Minister may, if so requested by an applicant for a passport who is or was married, issue a passport to him or her in his or her name that incorporates the surname of his or her spouse or former spouse, as the case may be, in place of, or in addition to, the surname of the applicant.
- The Minister shall, if an applicant for a passport applies to have a passport issued to him or her in a name (in this section referred to as “the new name”) other than the one referred to in subsection (1) or (2) or, if appropriate, the name entered in the passport last previously issued to him or her, require the applicant to produce to the Minister such evidence as appears to him or her to be satisfactory of the use by the applicant of the new name before a passport may be issued to the applicant in that name.
- If an applicant for a passport in the circumstances referred to in subsection (3) produces evidence to the satisfaction of the Minister of the use by him or her of the new name for a period of not less than 2 years prior to the date of the application, the Minister may, subject to this Act, issue a passport to the applicant in that name.
- If an applicant for a passport in the circumstances referred to in subsection (3) does not produce evidence to the satisfaction of the Minister of the use by him or her of the new name for a period of not less than 2 years prior to the date of the application, the Minister may, subject to this Act, issue a passport to the applicant in that name and enter the name of the applicant referred to in subsection (1) or (2) or, if appropriate, that entered in the passport last previously issued to him or her as an observation in the passport and that entry shall remain there for a period of not less than 2 years.
It is up to the Minister to determine what evidence would be acceptable for such an application. As we understand from the arrangements in place, if it can be proven that the Irish version of the name has been in regular use for a period of 2 years, the passport can be issued with the Irish version. The proof of regular use of the Irish language version can be provided by providing school or university documents, payroll, club identity card, driving licence, sports society, post office deposit account, bank account etc. to the Department of Foreign Affairs. At least two samples are usually sought as proof of normal use but the more proof is provided the stronger the case is.
If you do not have two years proof but you have more than six months, you can apply to have the amended name included on the Passport with your name appearing on the birth certificate on the references page.
As regards the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021, the use and record of names will change under Section 5 when the Minister commences that paragraph of that Act. Under this amended section, public bodies will have a statutory duty to accurately record and use names, addresses and titles in Irish.
The relevant provision is specified as follows:
5. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following sections after section 9: Duty of public bodies regarding names, addresses and titles in Irish language
9A.
- For the purpose of ensuring the correct recording and use by a public body of a person’s name (including the patronymic or matronymic form of the name), address or title (including the option to use no title) in the Irish language, the Minister may, after consultation with such (if any) Minister of the Government as the Minister considers appropriate having regard to the functions of the public body, prescribe the body for the purposes of this section.
- The Minister may, in prescribing a public body under subsection (1), specify the services offered or provided by the body in respect of which it is so prescribed.
- A public body that is prescribed under subsection (1) shall ensure that the information and communications systems, and any other systems (whether electronic or otherwise), that are used by the body in its communications with the general public, or a class of the general public, as may be appropriate, are configured in a manner that—
- permits a person’s name (including the patronymic or matronymic form of the name), address or title (including the option to use no title), in the Irish language, to be correctly recorded and used by such systems in relation to the services offered or provided by the body in respect of which it is so prescribed, and
- facilitates the use of the length accent in Irish language text.
- The Minister shall, not later than 3 months after the commencement of section 4 of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021 and following consultation with such (if any) other Minister of the Government as the Minister considers appropriate, prepare and issue guidelines to assist public bodies in complying with their obligations under this section and under sections 9B, 9C and 9D.
- A public body shall have regard to the guidelines, if any, issued under paragraph (a) in complying with its obligations under this section and under sections 9B, 9C and 9D.
- The Minister shall, as soon as practicable, publish on the website of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht guidelines issued under paragraph (a). The Minister shall, at such intervals as he or she considers appropriate, revise guidelines issued under paragraph (a) and the provisions of this subsection shall apply to the preparation, issuing and publication of such revised guidelines as they apply to the guidelines first issued.
As mentioned above, there are still guidelines to be issued in this regard as well as public bodies to be prescribed in this regard. Until these come into effect the Passport Act is the only language legislation currently in force on this matter.