Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the increase in the number of applications for Irish passports and to tie-in with Deputy McLoughlin's point about the statistical impact of Brexit, there has been a 70% increase in the number of applications from people in Northern Ireland. However, I assure Deputy Grealish that all passport applications are carefully vetted.

Deputy Grealish also mentioned the recent election in the United States. We do not have statistics which might indicate whether there is a trend in applications. However, there has been an increase in inquiries since the American election. I have some figures for New York. The figure for 2015 was 5,984 and that for 2016 was 6,209. On the west coast, the figure for San Francisco for 2015 was 3,660 and this role to 3,849 to date in 2016. There is an increase but it does not coincide.