AN ongoing suspension of Irish passports being posted to applicants across the border highlights the need for an office to be opened in the north, it has been claimed.
Sinn Féin senator Niall Ó Donnghaile spoke out after the Irish Passport Service announced last month it was temporarily suspending deliveries to applicants in the north and Britain due to industrial action by Royal Mail workers across the UK.
In a notice on the Republic's Department of Foreign Affairs website, the suspension remained in place but "under review" as of yesterday.
It was revealed last week that first-time applications for Irish passports was high in Antrim and Down in 2022, with only Dublin seeing higher numbers.
There was just under 128,000 applications made in the north last year, of which around 50,000 were first-time applications.
Mr Ó Donnghaile said the ongoing suspension of northern applications was "already causing much uncertainty and concern" as people plan holidays for the year ahead.
"A passport office in the north just makes sense," he said.
"I will again be raising this campaign in the Seanad and would call on the government to engage positively, prepare prudently and deliver for citizens."
