Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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76. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of passport applications made from outside Ireland in the past three years to date; the number of those passport applications that were refused; the number of foreign applications for passports that were granted by an Irish embassy or consulate (details supplied); the number of passports issued by way of online application since the scheme commenced to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44413/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The number of passport applications received in the categories and years requested are outlined below.

All Passport applications must meet the requirements of the Passports Act, 2008 as amended (“the Act”) before they can be processed. In all cases, the Passport Service must be satisfied as to the identity of the applicant and that the applicant is an Irish citizen. Furthermore, all guardians must provide consent for a minor’s application or if unavailable or unwilling, submit a court order as appropriate.

Section 12 of the Act makes provision to refuse a passport in certain circumstances. The Passport Service does not compile data on the number of applications which are refused. However, in general the number of applications that do not result in the issuance of a passport is small. Where applications are incomplete, applicants will often be contacted for clarifications or requested to provide further documentation.

The figures below provide the number of passports issued per Embassy or Consulate in the years requested. Many Irish Embassies are accredited to, and provide passport services for, Irish citizens in more than one country. The following table is organised by Mission.

Since the launch of the Online Passport Application service on 30 March 2017 to 30 September 2018, a total of 270,187 passports were issued using this service.