Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I was going to speak at length, but at this stage of the debate I rise just to support the motion, to commend my colleague, Senator Ó Donnghaile, on his tireless work on this issue and to thank the Passport Office staff who have done incredible work combining the Brexit chaos with the Covid-19 pandemic. I recognise that work. There are two things that stand out for me. First, we have learned under freedom of information requests that for the first time more people from the North have applied for an Irish rather than a British passport. That is extraordinary. The passport of choice for the majority of those in the North is, naturally, not as accessible as the next sought-after alternative, namely, British passports. Second is the new in-person appointment service in the Irish Passport Office on Cromwell Road in London. There is precedence for such an office in the North. It would give expression to the statement from the Tánaiste, Deputy Leo Varadkar, in May this year regarding the possibility of opening additional passport offices outside of Dublin.

I support the motion and commend Senator Ó Donnghaile on prioritising it. I thank all of the parties and speakers for their support for the motion.