More than 600,000 passports were issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs last year, broadly similar to 2012 and 2013.

The Irish passport office in London received 51,412 applications and 49,435 were made through the Northern Ireland "passport express" service.

The diplomatic offices with the highest demand after London were Canberra (6,557), New York (5,352), Sydney (3,534), San Francisco (3,219) and Ottawa (2,800).

Most people in Ireland opt for the passport express service with 463,806 applications received through it last year.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan said the department had worked "very hard in recent years to ensure we provide a modern, secure and quick passport service.

“For those who need to travel at short notice (3-10 working days) the passport appointments service allows them to book an appointment online rather than queuing up to renew their passport.

“Customers can now track their application online and can also sign up for our reminder service to receive an alert three months before their passport expires.”

A quarter of all applications were made during May and June.