Vol. 470 No. 1
130 Mr. Barry asked the asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, in view of the success in establishing a full passport issuing office in Cork and with the advanced computerisation currently available to his Department, if he will consider extending this facility to areas such as Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Sligo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18494/96]
In response to a similar question in January, 1996 I indicated that the localised nature of "Passport Express", making passports available more quickly and conveniently through the post office network, and the upgrading of the Cork passport office to a full issuing office had greatly increased the reliability and efficiency of the passport service and that I was, therefore, confident that the passport offices in Cork and Dublin would be able to ensure a continued high quality of service to the public for the foreseeable future.
"Passport Express" has become even more widely available in the course of this year, as the number of post offices offering the service increased to over 600, and over 55 per cent of applicants are now using it. Applicants residing in Counties Limerick, Waterford, Galway and Sligo do not have to travel any further than their local Garda station and one of the 96 post offices in those counties offering the service.
I am satisfied that the passport offices in Cork and Dublin are providing a high quality of service to the public and that, in these circumstances, the opening of further regional passport offices is not warranted.
