Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Of the 1.1 million, 11% were from Northern Ireland, but 90% of those were online. The approach of the Department has been digital first and to encourage and incentivise more and more people to go online because it is the most convenient, quickest and least expensive channel for applicants. People have made representations in respect of new passport offices in Northern Ireland and the west, but the online approach is working very effectively and has allowed for the centralisation of passport processing, resulting in greater efficiencies for the service and customers. The majority of passport service operations take place at the newly expanded Balbriggan campus, which now has capacity for 500 staff. Up to 90% of applicants from Northern Ireland applied for their passport online last year. There are passport offices in Mount Street and Cork, which have public counters and offer urgent appointment services. We keep all this under constant review, but at the moment, the push is towards the digital first side.

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