A record number of 779,000 passports were issued in 2017 according to Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney.
Of the 785,026 passport applications received by the Department, 779,184 were issued.
494,297 of these were issued to adults, with 284,887 issued to children.
Brexit is thought to be one of the leading reasons for the surge in applications. One in five passports were issued to applicants from Northern Ireland and Great Britain (20%).
The highest amount of passport applications outside Dublin came from New York, where 6,345 people applied for Irish passports.
This was followed by Canberra (5,077), San Francisco (4,336), Sydney (2,990), Pretoria (2,913), and Ottawa (2,826).
The world-first Passport Card, introduced in 2016, continued to grow in popularity in 2017, with over 38,000 Irish citizens availing of the convenience of travel to all EU, EEA countries plus Switzerland with a credit-card sized passport.
The Online Passport Renewal Service, which was launched in March of this year, continues to grow in popularity as well. This service means that Irish citizens renewing their passport can do so online anywhere in the world at any time. In only 9 months of operation to date, over 100,000 passports have issued following online applications. Online turnaround times are currently well ahead of the target of 10 working days plus postage.
The Department has also revealed the most popular baby names in 2017 based on passport applications. The top five boys names are Jack, James, Conor, Daniel and Adam. The top five girls names are Emily, Emma, Aoife, Grace and Sophie.
Commenting on the surge of applications, the Tanáiste says:
“This is the highest number of Irish passports ever issued in one year. It represents an increase of over 6% compared to 2016 (itself a record-breaking year), and an increase of over 15% since 2015.
“The Online Passport Renewal Service has been a particular success. From Cork to Costa Rica; from Meath to Mozambique; and from Sligo to Singapore – Irish citizens all over the world have availed of the option to renew their Irish passport online, with no requirement for forms, witnesses or printed photos.
““For those Irish citizens choosing to apply through Irish Embassies and Consulates during 2017, the Irish Consulate in New York retained its distinction as the location with the highest demand for passports, followed by Canberra, San Francisco, Sydney and Pretoria.
“We will continue to work hard in 2018 to offer the most efficient and user-friendly service possible to Irish citizens worldwide.”
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