Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

In reply to Senator Alex White, this amendment seeks to provide that the Minister can refuse to issue another passport to an applicant who refuses to surrender a passport previously issued to him or her. Section 18(6), as the Senator said, provides that an applicant for a passport shall, if so required by the Minister, surrender a passport issued to him or her — whether or not it is valid — before another passport may be issued. Section 6 provides that an application shall be accompanied by such information and documents in relation to the person as the Minister may require under section 7. The Minister is thus entitled to require an applicant to submit a previous passport as part of an application for a new passport. Furthermore, the Minister may refuse, under section 12(2) to issue a passport if an application does not comply with section 6. While I appreciate the constructive intentions behind this amendment, there are other provisions in the Bill which permit refusal — where an applicant refuses to surrender a previous passport — and I do not propose to accept the amendment.