The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by a family in the State's Witness Security Programme who argued that the State should provide altered Irish birth certificates to help protect their identities after relocation abroad.
In a judgment delivered on 7 November 2025, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan agreed with the dismissal of the appeal and examined the constitutional rights raised by the family's claim.
The appellants, identified only as Robert Doe, Jane Doe and their children, were voluntarily participating in the Witness Security Programme. They had been relocated to another country after the first two appellants provided information to Gardaí concerning a major criminal investigation and subsequently experienced intimidation and harassment linked to a criminal gang.
They argued that the absence of altered birth certificates for themselves and their Irish-born children caused significant practical difficulties in their new country, including when dealing with matters such as school enrolment. They also complained about the absence of an altered marriage certificate.
Mr Justice Hogan held that a person's name and identity are constitutionally protected. He said those protections arise from the dignity of the individual referred to in the Constitution's Preamble and the protection of the person under Article 40.3.2.
However, he stressed that the State also has a powerful interest in maintaining accurate and authentic civil registration records. Requiring the State to depart from those records would demand very clear and cogent evidence.
The evidence in this case, he found, showed considerable personal inconvenience and unhappiness but did not establish that the appellants' lives had been directly placed in jeopardy because altered certificates had not been supplied.
Mr Justice Hogan therefore concluded that the constitutional right involved is a right to have one's authentic name and civil registration details accurately recorded. On the evidence before the court, the threshold for requiring the State to issue altered documents had not been met, and the appeal was dismissed.