Vol. 425 No. 7
88 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if, in view of the success of the passport office in Cork city and the urgent need for such a facility there, he will expedite the plan to upgrade the office to full passport issuing status; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
As the Deputy is aware, a major computer upgrading project for the Passport Office is currently under way. As part of this project, it is envisaged that the Cork office will be computerised by late 1994. Once this is achieved I would anticipate a positive decision on upgrading the Cork office to the status of a full passport-issuing office.
Because of the scale and complexity of the computerisation project, it would not seem realistic to envisage a shorter timescale. I will, however, keep the matter under review.
