79. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of the printing of passport cards; the average current processing time for passport card applications; the number of passport cards that have been printed in each month of 2026 to date; and if she will provide advice on an application for a passport card for an individual (details supplied). [64741/26]

The passport card was launched in October 2015 and offers Irish citizens the convenience of travel, with a credit card sized travel document, to all EU Member States, the members of the EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway), Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The Passport Card is available to all Irish Citizens who hold a valid Irish Passport Book.

The fees charged for passport cards are dependent on the type of application made and are as follows:

The advertised turnaround time for passport card only applications is 10 working days and the average processing time for passport card applications in August 2026 was 4 working days.

Please see below table showing the number of passport cards issued in each month of 2026.

*To facilitate essential upgrades to Passport Service production equipment ahead of the launch of the new passport book and card at the end of June, passport card production was paused for a number of weeks in early summer. During this short period, applicants could continue to apply for a passport card. Notice of the temporary extension in turnaround times was published on the Department's website.

With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has issued the passport card to the applicant.