The Tánaiste Simon Coveney has said he expects the number of Irish passports to be issued in 2019 to surpass the total issued in 2018.
Speaking before an Oireachtas Committee on Thursday, Mr Coveney said that he expects the passport office to issue more than the 860,000 passports issued for the entire year last year.
Mr Coveney told the committee that initial figures for the first three months of this year show that applications has risen by 30% on the same period in 2018.
He added the demand for Irish passports has contributed an extra €60m to the exchequer.