John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the political decision that has been taken to open the hub for representations from MLAs. It is a critical decision because that technology has been there for the last year or so. The Minister's predecessor, Deputy Coveney, gave us a similar response last year. He said it was being looked at. The Minister might give us specific dates as to when it is going to be implemented and explain why it will not be extended to MPs, who have also been elected in the North. They also have a mandate and are equally entitled to make representations on behalf of Irish citizens.

There is a huge demand. Last year, more than 128,000 Irish passports were issued in the North and 50,000 of those were first-time applications. Many of those public representatives had to come through Members of this House to try to get clarity as to where the application was and how it was progressing through the Passport Office.

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