Donegal Deputy Joe McHugh has argued for a passport office to be located in Letterkenny.
Currently, the only two passport offices in the country are in Dublin and Cork, which are considerable journeys for people in Donegal.
Deputy Joe McHugh told the Dáil that his constituency office has received approximately 250 to 260 queries about passport applications in the past few months.
In the past five working days alone he said he has 30 phone calls and six emails about passports.
“The good citizens of Tyrone and Derry have also been in touch with me through their public representatives,” Deputy McHugh said.
He said a passport office in the north west would be worth pursuing.
“It is worth pursuing because there is a massive gap here in respect of providing equal services to everybody on this island,” he said.
The emergency passport application costs €150, but people who do not live near Dublin or Cork face additional transport and accommodation costs to attend the office.
Deputy Ossian Smyth, Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, said that the Irish passport service is under “massive pressure” this year because there were two years in which people did not renew their passports. That constitutes 20% of the population that did not renew their passports, meaning 1 million passports are required.
“That backlog is being worked through with a large number of people being hired,” he said, adding that 90% of all passport applications, including first-time applications, are now being made online.
Deputy McHugh said the proposed Letterkenny office would not be for online applications.
Deputy Smyth said that the department would keep an open mind on the matter as the Passport Service “will continue to consider ways in which to enhance the customer experience for citizens”.
Deputy McHugh said that he hopes a meeting with officials and Minister Simon Coveney will happen quickly.
