Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There has been a considerable amount of conversation about passports. That goes with this time of year. There are issues in respect of the need for a garda to witness an application and old-style communication. Those issues need to be dealt with. A considerable number of my Northern friends contact my office, which sometimes uses up an awful lot of our slots and that is a particular difficulty. The Government is going to facilitate elected representatives from the North. What is the timeline for that?

I will also mention a specific problem with the artificial intelligence, AI, system. I know of a lady with a disability for whom it was incredibly difficult to get a photograph that worked for her. I will be honest and say that the picture that got through the AI system to allow the process to start might not have been the correct photograph. It is a particular issue and we need more discretion for those with disabilities. The lady in question was unable to stop her head shaking and whatever else. That did not allow for the taking of a photograph in the same way as any of the rest of us.

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