asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is aware of the objections of Irish professional photographers to his Department's advice to passport applicants to have their passport photographs taken by an automatic machine; and if, having regard to the harmful consequences of such procedures to the livelihood of Irish photographers, he will ensure that his Department's recommendation is withdrawn.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Passport Photographs.
10.
My Department makes no recommendation as to how passport photographs should be taken. It accepts all photographs which meet its requirements for passport purposes.
Is the Minister aware that assurances from officers of his Department, perhaps unauthorised, have indicated that photographs from a particular photographing machine, a British photographing machine, which operates in this city, will be acceptable to the Department? Is the Minister further aware that such machines are incapable of making copies of a particular photograph and that in fact they take individual photographs and therefore two photographs submitted from such a machine could not possibly be copies of a particular original? Is the Minister further aware that at least one or two of the machines in question in Dublin bear on them a notice to the effect that photographs taken by them are acceptable to the Department of Foreign Affairs for passports?
As far as automatic machines are concerned provided the photographs meet with the requirements of the Department for passport purposes they are acceptable though there is no particular advice given to applicants to go by way of automatic machine photography rather than any other method.
Is the Minister aware that at one time forms of application for passports bore on them a caution to the effect that photographs from machines would not be acceptable? Is the Minister further aware that the machines in question issue photographs which are less in dimension than the regulations of the Department permit and would he say why this variation has been allowed, without any alteration in the regulations; it is having a most damaging effect upon Irish professional photographers who have a right to expect that the State would not deprive them of this reasonably continuous flow of business which otherwise gives the profit entirely to the British machine owners?
Certainly I shall look into what the Deputy mentions but I have the directions that are issued here on a passport application form. All that is required for the purpose is that they should be of thin photographic paper, be unglazed at the back and unmounted, that the size should be not more than 2½"×2" or less than 2"×1½", that they should be full face without a hat against a light background. I am not aware of any requirement that puts the automatic machine type photograph outside the ambit of the regulations but I shall certainly investigate it.
Except the dimensions.
That is a matter I shall have investigated.