Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Michael Kitt, to the House. This is a simple and necessary Bill. It is surprising we have had to wait so long to debate a Bill which explicitly covers the means by which people obtain passports in this country.

Passports have been a controversial subject in the past. We all remember the passports for sale controversy where it was alleged that some people effectively were able to buy Irish passports in return for investing in Ireland. At a time of high unemployment and business failures, such investments were welcome but the process discredited the point of holding an Irish passport. A passport is a crucial identity document which allows a person, when travelling, to use the good name of Ireland.

Passports carry a symbolism and a power. Media reports have referred to people from other countries who have sought to use Irish passports because of the good name of Ireland abroad. That was especially true in trouble spots throughout the world. To have an Irish passport and be seen as Irish earned a person a warmer, and sometimes safer, welcome. Ireland, unlike the United Kingdom, the United States of America and many of our European neighbours, is seen has having no past as a coloniser. At present, Ireland is not viewed as a country which is intervening in trouble spots for its own benefit. A passport in many ways symbolised our neutrality and our good reputation.

The growth in the number of Irish passports being issued is indicative of the rapid increase in international travel and the growth of Ireland as an economic power. Eight years ago, 388,000 passports were issued. By 2003, three years later, that figure had increased by 80,000 to 468,000. Last year, more than 630,000 Irish passports were issued.

With new travel has come new dangers as well as new possibilities. The reality of worldwide terrorism necessitates greater security associated with passports, something now possible with new technology, as the Minister of State mentioned. We have seen the introduction of machine readable passports and in 2006 the introduction of biometric passports, not that many of us know what such terms mean. I suspect that many of us have yet to get our heads around iPods and MP3 players, so we will leave this technology to the experts and hope they know what they are doing.

What surprised me was that Ireland, 80 years after independence, had no formal passport Act. Instead general administrative rules and procedures were laid down in the likes of the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924. Ad hoc procedures and practices evolved.

Mentioning the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924 reminds me of the historic importance of passports in achieving our independence. When Ireland became a dominion, it was presumed by Britain that all dominions were, in effect, extensions of Britain. Britain did not imagine that its dominions would issue passports, appoint ambassadors, receive ambassadors or do any of the things independent states do. The Irish Free State, however, ignored British worries and decided that it was going to issue Irish passports. Downing Street was furious and the dominions office was shocked but WT Cosgrave and his Minister for External Affairs went ahead, making Irish people the first people in the Commonwealth outside Britain to have their own passports. They then went further by appointing ambassadors and having the Governor General, on behalf of the King, accept credentials to Ireland from ambassadors for foreign countries. In issuing passports, that Cumann na nGaedhael Government was telling the world Ireland was independent and not part of Britain.

When we carry a passport, we do not just carry a little wallet with our details. We carry a symbol of our fight for independence. It may have the words "European Community" written on it now, which I presume will change to "European Union" if the Lisbon reform treaty is passed, but by having the harp and the words "Éire" and "Ireland" on it, that document symbolises the fact that we fought and achieved independence.

This Bill also includes provisions to deal with the position of children when parents are separated or divorced and with the issue of people whose names change, whether through marriage, divorce or gender realignment surgery. The latter inclusion will help solve some of the problems that arose in the case of Dr. Lydia Foy. Dr. Foy's inability in law to change her birth certificate meant she could not change her passport, causing her considerable problems. The issue of her name on her birth certificate eventually led to a court case and the landmark ruling from Mr. Justice Liam McKechnie in October last year.

While there is a constitutional right to travel, that right is not unqualified. This Bill, along with various court judgments, deals with that issue. Of course, we also face another more sinister problem in those who use Irish passports to facilitate criminal activity. Criminal activity using an Irish passport besmirches the name and reputation of Ireland and fraudulent use of an Irish passport must be dealt with severely. Any misuse of an Irish passport is unacceptable and I echo the comments of my colleague, Deputy Billy Timmins, in Dáil Éireann during the debate there on this Bill: "It is disturbing to think that the Colombia three have never been charged for an offence relating to the misuse of passports."

I am disappointed, as is my party, at the decision of the Government to exercise an opt-out from the justice and home affairs section of the Lisbon reform treaty and I hope this does not limit our ability to deal with criminality that may involve the use of our passports. This is a major concern that I ask the Minister of State to consider.

I also question the decision to move the Dublin Passport Office to Balbriggan. Decentralisation is all very well if there is no need for the public physically to visit an office. We all know the Government has created alternative ways to get a passport and it is not always necessary to visit the office but in the real world not everyone will use the new systems. There will always be people who go to the public office and it is ludicrous to move it to a location that is difficult for most people to get to. It should be at a central location where, if people choose to go to it, as is their right, they can get there easily. It makes no sense to relocate the office to an inaccessible location and I strongly urge the Minister to reconsider this decision.

It is common practice throughout the country to make copies of passports to gain entrance to night clubs and such establishments. Some people are required to produce a passport to enter such places but it is dangerous to ask people to carry their passports around with them. There is now a market for identification cards and copies of passports and this matter, which I raised previously in the House, should be examined. The misuse of passports is a serious subject.

On balance I believe this is long-needed legislation. It may be technical in cleaning up and clearing the system by which our passports operate, but a passport is a very important document in practice and in its symbolism and we must ensure it is not abused.