Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)

I want to ask the Tánaiste about the policy of first-time passport applicants requiring gardaí to verify their identity. Every Deputy in the House will have been frustrated by cases where a passport could not be issued because a name could not be found in a book in a Garda station or a contact not made. One can imagine the frustration of my constituent, Sinead, who has had her application rejected twice because a name could not be found in the book.

In six counties on the island it is not the police service alone that is required for identity verification, as other trusted local office holders can do it. Will the Tánaiste consider reviewing the mechanism and the process to free up Garda time, to improve what is otherwise a very good public service and to strengthen identity verification by involving other office holders?

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