Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy Leader. There is much pent-up demand within the country to travel abroad and, whether at the Easter break, the elongated St. Patrick's Day break or in the summer, Irish people will avail of opportunities to travel to Europe or further afield. While we always encourage people to take staycations and to experience the great offers we have in this country in hospitality and tourism, we can understand that, given the pandemic, people have not had the opportunity to travel and there will be an appetite to do so.

The issue of passports is one that, as public representatives, we all experience. We have all experienced the fear, dread and upset felt by people when they find their passport has expired, or will do so presently, after having booked holidays. The Passport Office does great work to expedite and assist public representatives and people in general to get passports processed, but there were issues last year and, based on all the evidence, there may be issues again this year. We need urgently to have a debate on the plans of the Minister for Foreign Affairs to assist in the processing of, in particular, first-time applications for citizens to avail of passports. We appreciate the relief when a passport application can be expedited, but we have also heard of cases of people who have had to cancel holidays or rearrange plans or where one group is able to travel while another has to stay behind because they cannot get their passports. It is a great cause of stress.

I have said previously that, with all the modern technology we have, it should not be beyond the bounds of possibility for a reminder text or email to be sent to remind people that their passport will expire in, say, five or six months' time and to encourage them to get online and apply. Obviously, applying online is the most efficient and easiest way to apply and it allows for a quick turnaround time, so we have to encourage people in that regard. Nevertheless, assistance needs to be provided to those who cannot apply online or who do not have the wherewithal to do so, and there could be a role there for Citizens Information or other State agencies to assist those people because online applications are faster and more efficient and allow for quicker processing. I ask for a debate, therefore, on the issue of passports at the earliest opportunity with the Minister for Foreign Affairs.