200 stolen or mislaid passport checks

POLICE forces around the world contacted Irish authorities more than 200 times in the past two years over cases where stolen or missing Irish passports were being used.

Almost 130 people were detained in international airports last year and 87 in 2008 because they had been travelling with Irish passports that had been reported stolen or missing.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said there has been an increase in these incidents “due in part to heightened security at international ports and airports and an increase in the number of border stations worldwide that are electronically reading passports.”