Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

I thank the Minister for his reply. This initiative will be a welcome change for those applicants who must take a day off work to travel to Dublin and queue outside the Passport Office in the winter months. With regard to passport smart cards, are there any plans to introduce digitally captured biometrics, for example, iris scans or finger prints?

Will the system be improved for people in Northern Ireland who regularly encounter difficulties when they present at Garda stations? Gardaí at Pearse Street station in Dublin, for example, will not know a person from County Down who presents to them and will tell him or her to go to Dundalk Garda station. Are there plans to enhance the procedure for applications from the North?

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