Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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81. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the take-up level of online passport applications for children since it was introduced; if it can be used by all children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3971/19]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Since the expansion of the passport online renewal service for children in November 2018, almost 8,000 of the approximately 18,600 applications to renew children's passports have been made online. As awareness of the service increases, we expect to see an even greater move towards the online channel.

The online service brings significant benefits for citizens with faster turnaround times of 10 working days for all online applictions, excluding postage.  In addition, the cost of renewing a passport online is significantly cheaper than alternative methods, with fees for all online applications being reduced by €5 across all application types.  The expanded service is now available to all adults and children who wish to renew their passport.

As the online service is the most convenient and most efficient method of renewing a passport, I would urge all applicants who are eligible to do so to consider using this application channel.