92. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason rent is already being paid on the new passport office in Cork; and whether the new office will include a passport printer. [68492/26]

The Office of Public Works (OPW), in conjunction with my Department, is progressing the development of new office accommodation for the Passport Service in Cork. Any query relating to the rental of this accommodation is a matter for the OPW, as the leaseholder for the property.

The Passport Online service offers citizens the ability to apply online for their passport 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Approximately 97% of all passport applications are now made through Passport Online.

The public offices of the Passport Service in Cork and Dublin 2 operate an Urgent Appointment service for renewal applications. During 2026, there were an average of 240 urgent appointments for a four-day turnaround service available in Cork each week. In 2025, just 15.6% of appointments available in Cork were booked.

The Passport Service operates three passport book printing machines: two machines located in the main production facility at the Balbriggan campus and one at the Dublin 2 Passport Office. The printing and dispatch of passports is a highly automated process in what is, essentially, an industrial production system.

The Passport Service estimates the initial capital cost of purchasing and installing new printer and mailing machine to be approximately €5.3 million. In addition to the capital investment, these highly sophisticated machines require expert engineers to be on-site while the machines are in operation to maintain and service the machines and repair them when necessary. The running and maintenance costs alone are estimated to be €600,000 per year.

For these reasons, a business case cannot be made to invest this level of funds to facilitate the small proportion of applicants who may wish to have their passport renewed within one day in Cork.