Friday 4 February 2011

Unauthorised Certificate of Irish Heritage launched

A website launched in the last couple of weeks to supply a Certificate of Irish Heritage has no connection to the official Government-inspired scheme of the same name, the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.

Complete with official looking logo, the unauthorised website has fooled a number of people into thinking it had official capacity and to sign up for further details.

A DFA spokesperson told Irish Genealogy News: 'The site www.certificateofirishheritage.com is not an official site. The Department of Foreign Affairs is aware of the website and its use of the official harp is currently under investigation by the relevant Government Department.'

The official scheme is still on the cards for a launch this year. It is aimed at those whose genealogical connection to Ireland pre-dates their grandparents and are therefore ineligible for an Irish passport. The launch date was rumoured by some to be set for January but the month passed with only this unofficial website appearing.

Fexco, the Kerry-based company who will administer the official project, have told me today that they are still not ready to give any indication of when the launch will be.