Passport Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Ryan O'Meara (FF), Tipperary North

I acknowledge the work of the team in the Passport Office. The numbers the Minister gave are incredible. All of us as public representatives see how hard they work and how responsive they are to helping people under pressure to get a passport. There is also the rapid turnaround time if people are going for a simple adult renewal. The passport could be arriving in the letterbox a day or two after people apply.
I also acknowledge the Minister and the two Ministers of State here in the Chamber, and their staff. I particularly acknowledge the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, and his staff for the assistance they regularly give to me in securing passports when there are these more difficult cases.
I echo some of what the Minister said. I encourage people to check their passports right now if they are travelling this summer> People should apply online, where possible, to avoid paper applications. We see so many issues arising from paper applications. I also believe this message should be communicated to our Garda stations to ensure that if somebody comes in with a paper passport application, gardaí will know they can guide them towards using an online application to avoid these issues happening.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26