Irish passports issued in UK set to double in wake of Brexit vote
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The number of Irish passports issued in the UK is due to almost double this year compared with the last full year prior to Brexit, Ireland’s ambassador to the country has said.
Dan Mulhall (pictured) said that before Brexit, 50,000 Irish passports were issued in Britain each year.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, he said: “I’m responsible, obviously, for our passport operation here in Britain, and for the five years up to last year the demand was pretty flat, and last year it rose by 40 per cent.
“That rise was all in the second half of the year, so we have to attribute that to the impact of last year’s referendum.”
He added: “So far this year we’ve seen another increase and it looks as if we are going to be close enough to doubling the number of passports this year compared with 2015, which was the last pre-Brexit year.
“So there has been a significant rise, not just in Britain but also in Northern Ireland.”
In the first half of this year 500,000 Irish passports were issued to applicants around the world.
“That’s an extraordinary number of passports, well up on our previous numbers, which means that people around the world are looking for Irish passports in order to safeguard their position for the future,” he added.
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