DEMAND for Irish passports continues to soar - with almost a quarter of a million applications received so far this year.

The Passport Service said last night it received more than 230,000 applications to date in 2019, a 30 per cent increase on the same period in 2018.

There were more than 860,000 Irish passports issued last year - the highest annual total ever - as Brexit contributed to a surge in interest.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney said: "Given the demand we are experiencing significant extra resources have been given to the passport service including hundreds of extra staff for processing and customer service."