Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

I have two brief questions. What progression has the Minister made in regard to the provision of an additional passport office? Being parochial, I should like to see a passport office being set up in the mid-west region, building on the success of the Cork passport office, particularly given the fact that the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food office in Ennis is closed, and staff have not been reassigned to other duties. The Government owns the building in Ennis, so perhaps I can lobby the Minister in that regard this afternoon, given the success of the Cork initiative.

When does the Minister expect the passport processing service for Oireachtas Members to resume, whereby they could leave passports here in the Dáil and they would be collected the following week?

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