Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
PASSPORT BOOM
94,000 from UK apply for Irish document during record year
A RECORD number of Irish passports were issued in 2019 as applicants from Northern Ireland and Britain scramble to get one ahead of Brexit.
This year’s total of around 915,000 represents a 7% increase on the 855,283 applications made in 2018.
More than 5,800 forms were submitted in a single day during peak times.
In total, 94,000 first-time applications were received over the course of the year from people born in the UK.
Tanaiste Simon Coveney said: “The Irish passport is a valuable document and we continue to strengthen all processes to
prevent fraud and maintain its integrity and security.”
Outside of the UK, the cities from around the world that sent in the most applications included New York, from where 3,544 applicants hailed.
Pretoria in South Africa was responsible for 3,186 and Canberra, Australia, had a tally of 2,468.
The oldest online applicant was 101 and the youngest was five days old.
Passport forms for the youngest Irish citizens also revealed the most popular baby names for the year.
Grace, Emily and Anna were the most popular baby girls names for 2019, while Jack, James and Noah topped the baby boys’ list.
The most popular Irish surname worldwide was Murphy, Kelly, Byrne and O’brien also common amongst applicants. The online passport services expanded this year, contributing to the increase in applications and the speed with which people can receive their passport.
For the first time this year, the Passport Online service included first-time applicants in the Republic, Northern
Ireland, Great Britain and Europe. Irish citizens, including children, can also renew their documents online from anywhere in the world.
The revamped service has brought in faster turnaround times of five working days for simple renewals according to the Republic’s Department of Foreign Affairs.
Mr Coveney stressed the importance of maintaining secure appwith lication systems and preventing fraud.
He said: “I want to thank the staff of the passport service who have worked hard in recent years to ensure the Government provides a modern, secure and efficient passport service.”
Meanwhile, Ireland’s European
Minister Helen Mcentee praised the Passport Service for being a leader in customer experience. She added: “I look forward to seeing the continued development of this excellent service in 2020.”