Obie wrote:I would have to disagree with you that this is not a sinister ploy.
It is a collective practice that has been taking place at the department and GNIB for a while now.
A friend of mine, went to the GNIB, and his wife (Union Citizen) was asked a question which could only be referred to as racially motivated overtones, and aimed at fraustrating EU nationals and their family members.
The guys wife was asked, where exactly were you born, when they have seen from her passport that she is a born UK national. They then went on to ask whether the guy was really the father of their child, which i find utterly irrelevant, and how her came into the country, and other stupid and pointelss question.
He was eventually told by the guys at Kildare that he will not be registered, as he is not on the system, and that he would have to come at another date, as they have yet to recieve instructions from DOJ.
Calling this an inept system, will be an understatement.
The department, servant or agencies employed to carry out the task of the minister, are clearly institutionally unlawful and putting the whole department into disrepute.
Right get your facts straight. You got administrative staff going on half strikes or not doing their jobs fully and properly due to the industrial action (EVERYONE IS EFFECTED).
But ya I do see where your at. I, from experience know a foreign national who had a really hard time from the passport office in Kildare St, (long before the recent crap) who had great difficulty in getting his son his Irish passport, despite 3 letters from the INIS clearly stating the child's entitlement and 1 from the GNIB. THe passport office delayed as it was not on their records. Of course, common sense would say for the head to rign up or sort it out for the applicant there and then, but unfortunately, laziness, lack of care about customer service (which has spread all over this country in the past few years) and bureuacy kicked in and ran the asylum house. Eventually after my friend threatened legal proceedings (which i understand got the INIS jumpy and keen to help) the passport office got their sh*t together.
You better get used of being asked questions - the world has his mother knows that there are some people here who have taken the state for a ride, ie one current lady in the Supreme Court. You can't use the race card all the time. A garda has the right to enquire and ask questions if he is suspicious. Its up to you to answer. If you have nothing to hide and are in the right you will get what you want or at least via courts. If you don't like how you where treated report the matter to the garda ombusman. You get more common type complaints about facial prejudice, even if the Ombudsman does nothing, he will have a clear picture that there is at least a preception that facial tones are here and manners and methods would have to change
Out of interest what did the memeber of the GNIB say?
Unfortunately, passports are known to be forged, better safe than sorry. You might find the paternity of the child irrelevant but the garda does not, he can at least ask! Some people are chancers (not saying your friend was)
Now as for the last bit, not being registered, right you got a point. But he can do something about that!
