APPLICATIONS for Irish passports are set to pass the one million mark in a calendar year for the first time.
A total of 733,060 passports were issued in 2016, but if current demand continues the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin is expecting more than a million requests to be processed this year.
The Irish Post has reported that there were 51,000 applications from Britain and Northern Ireland between January and March this year - up more than two-thirds on the same period in 2016.
In February, the Irish passport office said it was recruiting an extra 230 staff to meet increased demand experienced since the Brexit vote last year.
In the Monday following the June referendum, the Irish embassy and post offices in the north reported they had received more than 4,000 enquiries about passports – compared to the 200 weekly calls they normally receive.
Last month a new online passport renewal service was launched for Irish citizens.
