Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)

The Bill contains many welcome provisions, but are the penalties and offences sufficient when it comes to criminal gangs? We are discussing fines of up to €10,000 and imprisonment not exceeding five years for certain offences or not exceeding ten years for other offences, but is the fine sufficient to concentrate the minds of criminal gangs? As passports have been abused, the law should be tightened and I welcome the new provisions.

I thank the staff of the passport office, who should be commended for their good work in providing passports, sometimes on short notice. They step up to the plate and never leave anyone short of a passport in an emergency. When people discuss passports, their first thought is of the passports for sale scandal in the 1980s. We do not want a repeat because it affected our country's international reputation. We must ensure that passports are not provided to people or businesses for big money. Would it be possible to make provision for a passport for life?

Deputy Kennedy referred to immigration services at Dublin Airport. Is there sufficient staff to ensure regular checks of passports are conducted? In recent years, there may not be sufficient staff at immigration points, in particular late in the evening. This issue has also been raised in terms of ports. Will the Minister of State examine the matter further? There are many Irish people throughout the world, particularly in South America. Are there plans to provide passports to third generation Irish?

What are the circumstances required for the Minister to refuse to issue a passport as provided for in section 12? Will the decisions be transparent and can they be appealed if people are refused passports? Are there plans to introduce a passport for life as referred to by the Fine Gael spokesman, Deputy Timmins, when he suggested that passports should be compulsory from birth onwards? This would be tied into the birth and death registers to ensure passports are rescinded when their holders die.

The passport office is centrally located on Molesworth Street, but plans to move the head office to Balbriggan where there is related activity are of concern. Located in the city centre, the office is accessible and amenable for many people, but a move to Balbriggan will make getting emergency or renewed passports more difficult for people from outside Dublin. Will the Minister of State ensure that a presence will be kept on Molesworth Street? Will the Government re-examine passport costs, which seem excessive?

Regarding the holders of Irish passports in America, the 50,000 plus undocumented Irish comprise a significant issue. It is disgraceful that some of them are unable to attend weddings or funerals at home due to their natural fear of not being allowed re-entry into the United States of America. Will the Minister of State make it a priority to take care of the Irish abroad by ensuring the US Senate passes new immigration legislation? It is disappointing that the US Senate refused to vote in favour of reforming legislation. Having been active in that respect, will the Minister of State sustain pressure on Americans to take care of the Irish? It would be appreciated.

Will providing emergency passports become more difficult due to the use of biometric data or will the current process obtain? Will the information be kept at a secure location to prevent the wrong people breaking in and getting their hands on sensitive information, such as private details, fingerprints, facial descriptions and iris scans?

I wish the Minister of State well with the Bill, which is welcome and necessary in light of 11 September 2001. We must increase security at airports and ports to ensure only the right people — those with valid passports — are getting through. The main thrust of the Bill is progressive and I welcome its publication.

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