Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is critical to point out that the rights of our citizens on the entire island of Ireland to apply for and to retain an Irish passport is at the very core of the work that we do. I fully agree that significant challenges will arise in terms of what Brexit will bring but the service is available through the network of 70 post offices and increasingly online. Last year if one were to avail of the online service one had to be over 18 and renewing one's passport but we will shortly allow the service to be accessed by everybody applying for a passport, including for the first time. That is a significant development.

The purchase cost of the machine would be €1.7 million. The number of applicants submitting their applications through any additional or new office would not be sufficient to keep the machine running for more than half an hour a day, as it can print approximately 500 passports per hour. If we channel our resources through enhancing all the services that already exist on the island which are available to all citizens of the island, that would be a far more appropriate use of those resources.