Senior citizens are to get free passports under a new scheme announced today by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern.
Effect from the August 1st, the regular €25 fee will be waived for people aged 65 years and over.
"I am very pleased that the life-long contribution to society of our senior citizens is being further recognised by the introduction of free passports. This will benefit over 60,000 such persons annually - about 10 per cent of those who apply for passports annually," Mr Ahern said.
The move is part of an overall Government strategy to spread the benefits of Ireland's prosperity to senior citizens, he added. He emphasised that people in Northern Ireland are also eligible.
Today's announcement was welcomed by Age Action Ireland spokesman Paul Murray who said it showed "an awareness of the needs of older people, which is not always apparent.
"It is vital that older people are enabled to be mobile and to have opportunities to travel to ensure that they are not excluded from wider society," he said.