Post office on Irish border sees 15 fold increase in passport requests from Northern Ireland citizens
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Post office on Irish border sees 15 fold increase in passport requests from Northern Ireland citizens

A post office on the Irish border has seen a huge increase in Irish passport requests in recent months.

The post office in the town of Pettigo, located between Co Donegal and Co Fermanagh has recorded a 15-fold increase in the number of requests for Irish passports from Northern Irish people.

Pettigo is the only town in Ireland that is split between the UK and Irish border, with a river running through the town signifying the border line.

The town has received widespread attention since Brexit.

Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Head of Passport Office Fiona Penollar said: “Percentage wise (the increase) is relatively substantial – it is between 15-20%, however numerically wise, and putting that in context of the 900,000 applications, it is very small.”

Postmasters Union do not have figures on whether the increase represents a trend in post offices along the Irish border.

In order to be entitled to an Irish passport, you need to be born in Ireland before 2005.

If you were born in Ireland on or after 1 January 2005, your right to citizenship is dependent on your parents’ citizenship.