THERE CONTINUES TO be an increase in the number of applications for Irish passports from people in Britain and Northern Ireland.

Stats released by the Department of Foreign Affairs show that 22% of all Irish passport applications for 2018 came from the UK.

This is up from 20% in 2017 and comes following four or five years when applications from the UK remained static.

In releasing the figures, the department says that passport applications from the UK have “continued to rise since Brexit”.

In terms of numbers, this year saw 84,855 Irish passport applications from Northern Ireland and 98,544 applications from Britain.

Overall, this year was a record year for the number of Irish passports issued, 822,581 in total.

Of these, 529,673 were issued to adults and 292,908 were issued to children.

Outside of the UK, New York was the Irish consulate to receive the most amount of passport applications followed by Canberra, Pretoria, San Francisco and Ottawa.

DFAT DFAT

During the busiest period in 2018, 6,500 passport applications were made in a single day and the department has again urged people applying for a passport to do it online.

The number of online applications increased this year with the eligibility requirements for doing so expanded and a passport card for children also introduced.

Among online applications made in 2018, the oldest online applicant was 99 years old and the youngest was for a two-week old.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has also urged citizens to take care of their passport when at home and travelling after more than 7,000 passports were reported lost or stolen this year

“The Irish passport is a valuable document. My department continues to strengthen all processes to prevent fraud and maintain its integrity and security,” the minister said.

I strongly encourage all citizens to take due care with their passport at home and when travelling. Citizens may also wish to consider applying for the convenient credit-card sized passport card.

The most popular names for infants on new passports in 2018

Boys

Conor

James

Daniel

Jack

Sean

Cian

Adam

Girls

Emma

Caoimhe

Sarah

Amy

Niamh

Aoife

Chloe