Passport Service received more than a million applications last year for the first time
The Passport Service received more than a million applications for Irish passports for the first time last year, the Tanáiste is set to announce.
The milestone achieved in 2023 came to a total of 1,036,712 - with nearly a third now represented by people seeking Irish documents from outside the Sate.
The demand from applicants with addresses outside the State reached 318,179 last year.
Northern Ireland citizens are entitled to Irish passports, and there were 123,735 such applications last year -- outnumbering 113,270 for the rest of the UK.
This restores the balance, with Brexit providing a huge surge in applications from England, Scotland and Wales in recent years, which has now largely subsided.
Applicants included 44 people living in Russia, and 234 people living in Israel.
The Passport Online service has become a user-friendly, efficient service in recent years after long delays in the immediate aftermath of Covid.
Online processing is four times faster than paper-based passport renewal, with over 90pc of applications made this way - with coverage across the world.
National breakdowns from last year:
Location Applications Received
USA 28,887 Europe 18,446 Australia 12,633 UAE 1,737 Qatar 229 Rost of Middle East 810 A more detailed breakdown for Europe is below:
Albania 3 Andorra 2 Austria 393 Azerbaijan 1 Belarus 4 Belgium 736 Bosnia and Herzogovina 13 Bulgaria 86 Croatia 27 Cyprus 153 Czech Republic 168 Denmark 335 Estonia 30 Finland 103 France 2,982 Georgia 6 Germany 2,687 Gibraltar 99 Greece 170 Guernsey 138 Hungary 115 Iceland 23 Italy 796 Isle of Man 448 Kazakhstan 3 Latvia 47 Liechtenstein 3 Lithuania 91 Luxembourg 399 Malta 173 Moldova 13 Monaco 33 Montenegro 1 Netherlands 1,668 Norway 241 Poland 545 Portugal 558 Romania 99 Russia 44 Slovakia 74 Slovenia 9 Spain 2,986 Sweden 411 Switzerland 1,390 Turkey 129 Ukraine 11