Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney has confirmed that the number of Irish passports issued this year is just under 500,000. The Tánaiste stated that this follows 780,000 passports in 2017 and over 822,000 passports issued throughout 2018. He stated: “The increase in demand for Irish passports is driven by a number of factors including a general increase in the number of Irish residents travelling abroad and a growing population." 45% of all applications received in 2019 have been online applications and over 60% of those eligible to use the online application channel have done so”. To assist with forecasting future demand for Irish passports, Mr Coveney's "Department has commissioned research to better understand the potential demand for passports from Irish citizens in the United Kingdom who have not yet applied for a passport”.

Source: Irish Examiner July 15, 2019 14:03 UTC