Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 May 2023
145. Deputy Ciarán Cannon asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if it is possible to determine the number of Irish citizens that are resident in Northern Ireland; and if so, if the number of those citizens that hold Irish passports can also be determined. [24117/23]
View answerThe last census in Northern Ireland took place on 21 March 2021. The population of Northern Ireland on census day, 21 March 2021, was 1,903,175.
As the Deputy will be aware the Good Friday Agreement recognises that it is “the birth right of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose, and… their right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both Governments”.
The first phase of main statistics results, www.nisra.gov.uk/publications/census-2021-main-statistics-for-northern-ireland-phase-1published on 22 September 2022 provided results for country of birth, passports held, ethnic group, national identity, language, and religion
The Passport Service does not track the country of residence of Irish passport holders. The Passport Service continues to see a steady demand for passports from applicants residing in Northern Ireland. Over 112,000 passport applications were received from applicants residing in Northern Ireland in 2022.
