Calls have been made to establish a passport office in the north east of the country.
Deputy Brendan Smith made the request by way of a parliamentary question when he urged the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney to bring “a much-needed” passport office to the province of Ulster.
He said there were large numbers of people in Ulster using Irish passports and administrative offices should not be confined to the two largest centres of population in the country.
The minister told Deputy Smith that he was “satisfied overall” that the range of service options available meets the current needs of passport applicants.
He added that recent service improvements allowed the Passport Service to provide this essential citizen service in an efficient and effective manner.
Meanwhile, Deputy Smith highlighted how unsatisfactory the Minister’s response was.
"Everyone is not familiar or confident enough to transact business online and people should have the option of going to a public office,” he continued.
"I don't share the view of the Minister that recent service improvements allow the Passport Service to sufficiently provide this essential citizen service in an efficient and effective manner.
“That clearly is not the case at present with unacceptable delays in the processing of passport applications.
"I will continue to highlight the clear need for a passport office in the North East on behalf of the people of Cavan-Monaghan.”
