By EchoLive.ie Elaine Whelan
Calls have been made for passport printing facilities to be made available in Cork.
Cork North West senator Eileen Lynch is calling on the Government to introduce a passport printing machine in Cork to reduce wait times and increase accessibility for those waiting on new and renewed passports.
Currently, there are only two passport printing machines in Ireland, both of which are in Dublin. Although there is one passport office located on South Mall in Cork, there is currently no facility to print passports there.
Speaking in the Seanad, Ms Lynch said that last year, more than 1m passports were issued last year.
鈥淲e see forecasts of similar numbers to be issued this year,鈥 she said.
鈥淚t is vital that the department carry out a review of the necessity to establish a passport printing service outside the capital.鈥
She highlighted the disadvantages of only having printing machines in the capital.
鈥淧eople may be required to travel to Dublin at short notice to collect a passport and then return to Cork or Farranfore to catch a flight.
鈥淭he current concentration of printing in Dublin is a disadvantage to those coming from other parts of the country. We need to see an expansion of the service.鈥
In the last five years, the number of first-time passport applicants has more than doubled to 250,000, and the number of renewal applications has doubled to almost 725,000.