Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 110: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will extend the period of the passport to 10 years and six months as travel is often refused in the six months prior to expiry. [4309/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Immigration requirements differ from country to country. For the majority of destinations, including all EU member states and the United States, Irish passports are valid for travel up until the date of expiry. Some other countries, however, require a passport to have a validity of six months or longer for travel purposes.

The long-established practice of the Passport Office to issue passports with a maximum validity of ten years complies with the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation and is in accordance with accepted international practice. Any deviation from this could cause confusion at border controls and could potentially cause embarrassment or difficulties for Irish citizens. I believe it would be very unwise, therefore, to change this long-established practice and, while appreciating the motivation behind the Deputy's question, I do not intend to make such a change.