More than 500,000 Irish passports were issued between January and June 2026, according to new Department of Foreign Affairs figures reported by TheLiberal.ie. Dublin accounted for 93,000 of the documents, followed by Cork with 35,000, while Northern Ireland residents took up over 50,000. The numbers confirm that Ireland’s passport system is running at near-record volume for the second consecutive year, driven by pent-up post-pandemic demand, a spike in Foreign Birth Register applications from the United States, and strong outbound holiday travel. Minister Helen McEntee praised the Passport Service as “world-class” but urged citizens to check expiry dates well before booking trips. The new staggered-colour passport design launched in June is now being issued to all successful applicants. For corporate mobility teams the statistics underline the importance of early passport renewal reminders: peak summer demand can still stretch standard processing beyond the advertised 10 working days. The data also highlight the growing pool of Irish-passport holders abroad—a talent source employers with Irish operations may wish to tap under EU free-movement rules. The DFA expects total issuances to exceed one million again this year, with fresh budget funds (see separate story) aimed at ensuring capacity keeps pace.
Source: TheLiberal.ie
