1 million Irish passports issued in 2024, 100th year of passport services

Ireland's Tánaiste (Deputy Leader) and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin has announced that over 1 million passport books and cards were issued in 2024, marking a milestone year for the Passport Service.

While 2024 has been a milestone year for Irish passports forecasts from the Department of Foreign Affairs indicate that in 2025 the strong demand will continue, with around 940k passports expected to be issues this year.

Tánaiste Martin said "In its 100th year, the Passport Service managed an extraordinary volume of applications, delivering over 1 million passport books and cards for only the second time in the history of the State. January proved to be the busiest month of the year, with over 123,000 applications submitted, and 28 January was the busiest day, with 8,363 applications received in just 24 hours."

According to Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs, the award-winning online platform Passport Online places the Irish Passport Service amongst the most innovative in the world.

Through Passport Online, citizens also have the option of applying for a passport card, which is valid for travel in the EU, EEA, Switzerland, and the UK.

90% of applicants across the island of Ireland now apply using Passport Online, a service that is available to all types of applicants including children applying for their first passport.

Looking ahead to 2025, the Tánaiste encouraged citizens to plan ahead for their travels "Next year is set to be another busy year for the Passport Service. I urge anyone planning to travel to check their passport’s expiry date now. If you need to renew or apply for the first time, I strongly recommend using Passport Online – the quickest, easiest, and most cost-effective way to secure your passport."

Earlier this year the Irish passport was ranked as the third-most powerful passport in the world for 2024, according to the Henley Passport Index. The Irish Passport, which jumped three places from 2023, ranks one place above the UK passport and four places above the US passport. 

The index creates scores based on the visa-free access of 199 different passports to 227 travel destinations. For each travel destination, if no visa is required, then a score of 1 is allocated for that passport.

The Irish passport now grants visa-free access to 192 destinations across the world, level with the Austrian, Danish, and Dutch passports.