Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 July 2019
121. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of first time applicants from Great Britain and Northern Ireland who applied for an Irish passport in each of the years 2014 to 2018 and to date in 2019, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30656/19]
View answerAll passport applications are subject to the provisions of the Passports Act, 2008, as amended. The Passports Act provides, among other things, that a person must be an Irish citizen before a passport can be issued to him or her. Entitlement to Irish citizenship is governed by Irish law and in particular the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended.
The numbers of first time passport applications received from applicants who were resident in Northern Ireland and Great Britain at the time of application for the years 2014 to 2018 and to date in 2019 are detailed in the following table.
|
Year |
First time applications from Great Britain |
First time applications from Northern Ireland |
|
2014 |
5,672 |
18,067 |
|
2015 |
6,011 |
20,325 |
|
2016 |
18,263 |
29,923 |
|
2017 |
31,675 |
40,089 |
|
2018 |
22,386 |
40,226 |
|
2019* |
31,099 |
47,645 |
* to 30 June 2019
My Department continues to closely monitor the level of passport demand to ensure that all resources, including staffing, are effectively deployed to meet the ongoing anticipated strong demand for Irish passports.
