Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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161. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of an application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3283/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Passport Service has paused processing of routine applications while Ireland is at Level 5 of the National Framework for Living with COVID-19.

The Passport Service continues to provide an emergency passport service for Irish citizens at home and abroad. The service is available for those who are required to travel due to the death or serious illness of a family member or because the applicant requires emergency medical treatment.

Applicants who require a passport for emergency purposes, or to travel for urgent reasons, should contact the Passport Service via our Customer Service Hub Webchat function on our website.

The Passport Service has a comprehensive plan in place to resume all services, in line with the National Framework for Living with COVID-19. When operations resume at Level 4, all applications received via Passport Online will be processed.

The Passport Service plans to resume processing of routine paper based applications such as Passport Express, Northern Ireland Passport Express and applications for Foreign Birth Registrations at Level 3.

With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, this application will be processed at Level 4 of the National Framework for Living with COVID-19. Alternatively, the Deputy may wish to be aware that there is no requirement for Irish (or UK) citizens to produce passports when travelling within the Common Travel Area. However, it is the case that airline carriers or ferry operators in many instances require their passengers to have a passport in their possession before allowing them to board the aircraft. This should be checked in advance of making travel arrangements.