Feargal Quinn (Independent)

One of the assets each of us have in this nation is an Irish passport. One is reminded of the value of an Irish passport by the two recent incidents, one in Saudi Arabia and one, allegedly by Russians, in the United States. Some years ago I introduced a Bill here banning the sale of passports. I was happy to see it initiated in this House and a Bill, not mine, later became law. It is a reminder to us of how valuable the passport is. Will the Leader draw the attention of the Minister to ascertaining whether there is a need for better controls on the issuing of passports and for better passport technology? I am not sure there is because the passports that were used are probably out of date or at least are passports issued previously. There is now a tight control in many aspects of technology to ensure forgeries are not easily made. It is a reminder to us of how valuable an Irish passport is and how the use of an unauthorised Irish passport damages each of us in the future. I urge the Minister to ensure that whatever controls are needed are put into place.