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

An efficient and secure Passport Service is important. Our team does a good job. Last year, we saw an extraordinary increase in the number of applications. This year is a surreal one in many ways, but we will during the summer and into the autumn get back to dealing with significant numbers of people who need their passports renewed and others who are getting passports for the first time. We will have systems in place to do that.

Regarding WHO funding, I believe that the role of the WHO in the context of this pandemic is incredibly important globally. Less so perhaps for countries like Ireland that have good public health advice and, in relative terms, well-resourced public health systems and infrastructure, but in many parts of the world where we have development partnerships and the kind of health infrastructure that is necessary to respond to Covid-19 is non-existent, the input of and trust in the WHO are important. As such, I was concerned about and critical of the deliberate attempts to undermine the credibility of the WHO and the pulling of funding at this time. I remain so. Not because of that but because of our support of the WHO generally and the pressures of the pandemic-----

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