Passports Act 2008

PART 3

Miscellaneous

Amendment of Diplomatic and Consular Officers (Provision of Services) Act 1993.

28.— The Diplomatic and Consular Officers (Provision of Services) Act 1993 is amended—

(a) in section 1, by the insertion of the following definitions:

“ ‘any officer of the Minister’ means a person (whether or not a civil servant) who performs functions as an officer of the Minister either in the State or in any country or place outside the State;

‘ travel documents ’ includes the European Union Travel Document issued in accordance with the Decision of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council of 25 June 1996 on the establishment of an emergency travel document (96/409/CFSP);”,

(b) in section 2, by the substitution of “any officer of the Minister who performs functions as an officer of the Minister in relation to the rendering of consular services or the issue of passports, visas or other travel documents” for “any officer of the Minister appointed by the Minister to be a person to whom sections 3 (other than subsection (2) thereof) and 4 of this Act apply”, and

(c) in section 3—

(i) by the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (1) and (2):

“(1) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, make regulations fixing the fees to be charged for such services as are specified in the regulations, namely—

(a) consular services, or services relating to passports, visas or other travel documents, when rendered by a person to whom section 2 of this Act applies, and

(b) the administering, taking or doing of any oath, affidavit or notarial act authorised by section 5 of this Act when administered, taken or done by persons to whom that section applies.

(2) The fees fixed by regulations made under this section may be charged inside or outside the State, as may be appropriate.”,

and

(ii) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(3A) Regulations made under this section may fix different fees to be charged for different services and for any such service provided in different circumstances.”.