Passport facility for TDs under review

MINISTER FOR Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern is considering withdrawing the facility for fast-tracking of passport applications by TDs and Senators.

The Minister said he had asked the secretary general of his department "to undertake a review of all aspects of the facility, including whether it should be continued in place".

Mr Ahern decided on the review when it emerged that Oireachtas members had facilitated 6,200 passports last year.

Mr Ahern was responding in a written parliamentary reply to Fine Gael environment spokesman Phil Hogan, who queried whether that was the correct figure.

Mr Ahern said he was "satisfied that the information conveyed in my previous answers set out the position as accurately as possible". He said the details of the submitting members and/or their offices were recorded manually. This "often meant that names of contact points in particular officers were recorded rather than the actual name of the member of the Oireachtas".

He added that "at the same time, the focus of the Passport Office remained very firmly on ensuring the entitlement of applicants to passports, and the accuracy and integrity of the issuing process. Details of the submitting members and/or their offices were a secondary consideration."

The Minister said that 29 applications have been recorded in 2007 as being forwarded through the Health Service Executive. In addition, the Passport Office indicates that applications over the years have been dealt with which were submitted by health boards, An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces, the Department of Foreign Affairs and other Government departments, NGOs (Non-Government Organisations) working in developing countries and members of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Mr Ahern said the special facility for applications submitted through Oireachtas members was introduced in the mid-1990s at a time when there were long queues outside the Passport Office.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times