James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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18. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if Peace Commissioners can sign all passport applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3391/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In order to verify the identity of a passport applicant, and in the case of children, the consent of their guardians, the Passport Service requires certain forms to be witnessed.

While Peace Commissioners are included in the list of approved witnesses accepted by the Passport Service, there are certain applications for applicants resident in Ireland that must be witnessed by a member of An Garda Síochána. These include:

• Certificate of Identity on Post Passport (paper) applications
• Identity Verification Forms for First time adult online applications
• Child Identity and Consent Forms for First time child online applications

• Section 7 Consent of Guardians on Child Post Passport (paper) applications and
• Child Identity and Consent Form for Child online renewal applications.

The Passport Online service offers Irish citizens the ability to apply online for their passport 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is a user-friendly, efficient service that consistently offers processing times up to 4 times faster than paper-based passport renewal applications.

I would ask the Deputy to encourage their constituents to apply for their passports through Passport Online, as the quickest, easiest and most cost effective way to apply for a passport.