Brexit effect as Irish passport applications from Brits up 40 per cent since June

Applications for Irish passports from Brits rocketed by 40 per cent since June, it has been revealed

A record number of passports were issued by Ireland last year and the country saw a jump in the number of UK citizens trying to obtain Irish passports, official figures show.

It comes after a reported rush of people applying for Irish passports in the wake of the Brexit vote in a bid to keep hold of their EU citizenship.

Charlie Flanagan, the Irish foreign minister, said nearly 65,000 Brits and 68,000 Northern Ireland citizens applied for Irish passports in 2016.

Ireland issued nine per cent more passports in 2016 than the previous year and extra staff were hired to help deal with the extra applications, the Financial Times reported.

Foreign minister Mr Flanagan said on Thursday that 2016 was “exceptionally busy” for the passport service and he believed the trend would continue for the next few years.

Most of the passports issued by Ireland every year are to Irish citizens.

The rules state any Brit who was born in Ireland, or whose parents were, is considered an Irish citizen while anyone whose grandparents were born in Ireland is able to apply for an Irish passport.