The Tánaiste Simon Coveney has confirmed that a total of 490,000 passports have been issued so far this year.
In an announcement made before the Dáil this afternoon Mr Coveney confirmed that almost 500,000 passports have been issued in the first six months of this year.
The latest figures come after it was previously revealed that a total of 780,000 passports were issued in 2017.
Meanwhile a total of 822,000 passports were issued in 2018.