Austin Currie
Ceist:178 Mr. Currie asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the cost of each type of Irish passport; the reason this information is not contained in the application form; and if he will make arrangements for its inclusion. [21255/98]
Written Answers. - Passport Charges.
The fees currently charged for Irish passports are: for a standard ten year 32-page passport £45, for a large ten year 48-page business passport £55, for a special three year 23-page passport for persons under 18 or over 65 £10, and for a collective or group passport £45.
Any person wishing to exchange a passport which is currently valid for a new passport — for example, in connection with changing a name on marriage or adding children's names — may do so for a fee of £15; the new passport is valid for the period of validity of the previous passport.
Some 600,000 passport application forms are printed each year for distribution mainly to Garda stations and post offices. Passport fees are subject to change. In the past, when fees were specified on the form, out-of-date forms and incorrect fees continued to be received after new fees became applicable; this caused unnecessary difficulties for both the Passport Office and the applicants concerned. As long as the Passport Office does not directly control the forms that are given to applicants, the best way of avoiding such difficulties is by not mentioning fees in the form. In the experience of the Passport Office, any inconvenience caused to applicants by this omission is less than the difficulties a greater number of them would have through using out-of-date forms after a fee increase. It is not intended, therefore, to revert to the practice of including fee details in the passport application form.
A list of current fees is on display in every Garda station and in the thousand or so post offices where the "Passport Express" service is available. They are also displayed in the Passport Offices in Dublin and Cork and are recorded on the Passport Office low-cost information line, 1800 426 800. About 90 per cent of all passport applications within the country are made through post offices or in person at the Dublin and Cork Passport Offices. In the case of the 10 per cent or so of applications transmitted by ordinary post, the fee is usually indicated by the Garda who certifies the applicant's identity.