James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am getting a little closer to home with this question. The Minister will be aware the deluge of applications for passports has rapidly increased since the summer months and since travel has been permitted again. Obviously, the Passport Office was closed for a period during lockdown. It became an impossibility to acquire a passport. My office and, I am sure, the constituency offices of all my colleagues around the House have been inundated with queries about applications. There seem to be significant delays, even with the office reopened. What are the numbers for Kildare and what are the Minister's plans to arrest this backlog?

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