Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

It is appropriate that we have an opportunity to discuss this crisis this afternoon. I, on behalf of my colleagues, thank the Ceann Comhairle for providing us with this opportunity. As the Minister of State will be aware, coming from Donegal, one of the jobs a public representative is asked to do is to arrange for the processing of a passport application in Dublin in emergency circumstances. I must compliment the officials and staff in the Passport Office on the service they have provided down through the years. They have been co-operative, obliging and have looked after us in emergencies, as have the officials in Iveagh House in helping to process a passport in emergency circumstances at a weekend.

The queue that had formed outside the Passport Office by 8.45 a.m. when I was passing it along Molesworth Street and down Kildare Street was unbelievable. That cannot be tolerated. We have to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

The Minister of State mentioned the case of a person from Donegal. A constituent of mine had to travel by motorcycle from Donegal to Dublin to collect his passport before 1 p.m. last Friday. Thankfully, he got it and then he travelled back to Donegal.

Many people in the country who have applied for a passport do not know the status of their applications. I have suggested to some constituents that in emergency circumstances where a person has to travel, be it on a holiday or for some other reason, any person who was born in this country prior to 1949 is entitled to apply to the British Embassy on Merrion Road for a UK passport, which would be processed in two or three days. I do not know if that is widely known. There are people in Donegal and in other parts of the country who are at their wits end and they will head to the British Embassy. If what is happening in the Passport Office on Molesworth Street continues for much longer, one will see a queue forming outside the British Embassy. I have recommended to a number of people in emergency circumstances that if they cannot obtain a passport through our Passport Office to apply for a passport to the British Embassy and that they will be facilitated. I do not know what is the view of the Minister of State on that. He probably does not qualify for such a passport on age grounds. It was a declaration of the Republic that anyone born here before 1949 is entitled to the UK passport, but I believe that would be the last resort for people. This problem is causing widespread consternation and the greater the distance one is from Dublin the more difficult one finds it.

It is great that a passport facility is in place in Cork. The passport service should be regionalised. There is no reason a passport office could not be provided in the north west, Galway and the south west. When the dust settles and this dispute is resolved, that solution should be considered.

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