Dáil debates

Wednesday, 18 December 2019

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Passport Services

11:25 am

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

One of the first questions I asked on my return to the Department after visiting the team at the Passport Office in Cork, who do a fantastic job, was whether we can extend printing facilities to Cork. I asked my officials to consider that possibility. We looked at cost, as well as the printing capacity in the existing locations. We have three printers across two locations in Dublin. As I outlined, the numbers in respect of providing printing facilities in Cork did not add up. People have lobbied me for a passport office in Northern Ireland, given the number of people seeking passports there. More than 80% of applications to renew or access a first passport are completed online and, as such, the system and its efficiency do not rely on the location of the printers. We need to keep the matter under review. I am not saying "No" indefinitely but, rather, that the current capacity that is sufficient and the Passport Service is running efficiently. If there is a genuine emergency, people can get an emergency passport at short notice in Cork.

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