Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire Stáit agus a fhoireann, chomh maith leis an Aire, an Teachta Coveney, agus gach éinne a oibríonn sa Roinn as an méid oibre atá déanta acu ar an ábhar seo.It is right and proper that we acknowledge that. Other speakers have said just how much work has been done. The Minister of State outlined some of the statistics for the enormous turnaround we have seen on even months ago, or certainly last year, and the number of passports being produced. It is an enormous recognition of the service delivered by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Notwithstanding the increase in the number of staff, I know that the individual staff in the Passport Office have put enormous effort into delivering passports. I think the Minister of State said we are reaching 6,000 passports produced a day, or some figure akin to that, which is an astonishing number and contrasts very sharply with the figures for recent years, the highest number so far being in 2019. I give credit to the Minister of State and the Department for doing that. It is also a recognition of the value of the Irish passport, which has been referred to as well, and how desirable it is to people not just on this island but throughout the world to be a part of the global Irish community and to be citizens of Ireland. That is also welcome. We welcome any new people into that community wherever possible.

I feel at this point that I should ask for a passport office in Dún Laoghaire-----