John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)

As the Tánaiste said, there are two publicly accessible passport offices, one on the South Mall in Cork and one on Mount Street in Dublin, in addition to a passport printing facility in Balbriggan. Of these three buildings, only two print the passports, with one printing facility in Dublin city centre and two printing presses in Balbriggan. There is no such facility in Cork. Given that the number of annual first-time passport applications has more than doubled, and renewal applications have nearly doubled in the period from 2020 to 2024, an additional passport printing service is definitely needed. I note the Tánaiste's comments about the public offices and the passport services in Cork and Dublin operating an urgent appointment service for renewal applications. The Dublin office offers one-day and four-day turnaround services, while the Cork office only offers a four-day service. If the Cork office was able to provide a one-day turnaround service, as well as a printing service, that would be welcome.

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