Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome any additional resources for extra personnel. They certainly will not be idle because of the massive increase in applications over the last two to three years. More people are travelling, including people who may not have travelled in a decade, and that is most welcome. There are simple measures that we can take to alert people that they ought to check their passports. It is a simple error to make when people do not check their passports, but people do make it. When it is only in a day or two from travelling they look for their passport and find it is out of date. There is an emergency service for people who find themselves in that position and I know the staff always push out the boat and do everything that is humanly possible. We should recognise that they do brilliant work at the last minute to get people travelling if at all possible.

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