New photobooth at House of Commons promotes applying for Irish passports

A new photobooth outside the House of Commons is encouraging people to get their photographs taken for an Irish passport.

Spotted by Brendan O'Hara, the SNP MP for Argyll and Bute, the new booth goes to great lengths to encourage politicians and their staff to get a photograph to apply online for an Irish passport.

The irony was not lost on O'Hara, that those who have marched through the lobbies to vote for Brexit were being encouraged to apply for an Irish passport to maintain links to the European Union.

The new booth was also spotted by the BBC's Nick Eardley, who tweeted with a shocked emoji.

He said: "Have just noticed the new self-service photo booth in parliament, en route to the Commons chamber. It advertises its special passport photo service... for Irish passports".

https://twitter.com/nickeardleybbc/status/1224700624358518784

It is, however, not the first booth to appear on the parliamentary estate with other visitors to the complex somewhat surprised by the advertising strategy.

MORE: Gallagher brother who said we 'have to leave' applied for Irish passport after vote

Irish passports enable people to continue to travel and work on the continent after Brexit without visa restrictions.

If you were born in Ireland, or your parents or grandparents were born there, you could be entitled to an Irish passport. It is also possible to apply if you are married to an Irish citizen.

https://twitter.com/BrendanOHaraMP/status/1224757034639405057

In 2015 the number of UK applications for the Irish travel documents stood at around 40,000 over the year, but has grown steadily since the EU referendum. In 2019 the figure reached 100,000 applications.

Last year almost a million people applied for Irish passports from around the world.

https://twitter.com/CallaghanDaniel/status/1217857216054812673