Ms Fiona Penollar:

The Deputy wanted me to talk about integrity, which is a fundamental part in the protection of the Irish passport. Regarding the lost or stolen passports, since 2013 when we introduced a new passport with over 80 security features, we have not actually found an incident where someone has been able to tamper in any credible way with a passport. Because of the security features it is very hard to substitute a photograph. It is very hard to doctor the passport. That is a huge pillar of our protection.

We also have an integrity unit which has very close links, not only here with An Garda Síochána and others involved in integrity issues, but also with Interpol. We have international groupings where we meet and discuss latest trends and risk profiling. We put an awful lot of emphasis on protecting the integrity because it is so important for every passport holder. The integrity of the passport means that, as the Deputy says, we can travel. We have that visa-free travel. We are either number four or five in the world as a passport for visa-free travel. That is primarily down to the integrity of the actual physical passport but also the process. That again comes back to the turnarounds in some areas.