asked the Minister for External Affairs whether he is aware that an Irish priest on applying to the High Commissioner's Office in London for a passport was furnished with an application form in which he was requested to state inter alia if he had ever been convicted of any crime; and, if so, whether, in view of the fact that a request of this sort constitutes an insult to the clergy, he will take steps to ensure that it is not repeated.

The application form referred to by the Deputy is a standard form which has been in use for a number of years at all our offices abroad. This particular query is almost invariably included in the passport, visa and other similar forms, not only of this country, but of other countries as well. I cannot accept the Deputy's suggestion that the form in question constitutes an insult to clergymen applying for passports and I am sure that the Deputy will readily realise that nothing is further from the purpose of the form.