Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. As she correctly outlined, it is not the response I hoped to get. I take the point that passport renewal is a fantastic service, and 99% of people are able to avail of it. However, the issues around time generally are not caused by renewals. They are caused by new applications. It is important for that to be mentioned along with the disparity between a one-day turnaround in Dublin and a four-day turnaround in Cork. I have already mentioned the massive extension of passengers and footfall in Cork Airport. We also have Shannon Airport and Farranfore Airport. These are three quite substantial airports in the south west. This would be a good investment. I appreciate the business case. It is quite a substantial amount of money. I completely accept that. However, the turnaround times are causing difficulty; it is not the renewals. I wish again to pay tribute to the passport staff and the Department staff because in my role as a Senator and in my former role as a councillor, they have been incredibly efficient and helpful. As I said, I feel that this is an area where we are lacking.