[caption id="attachment_21693" align="alignright" width="300"]dom Civil engineer Dominic Hannigan, Labour TD for Meath East[/caption] Chartered engineers have been officially recognised as being acceptable witnesses - along with previously acceptable signatories such as gardai, members of the clergy, doctors and lawyers - in signing Irish passport application forms on behalf of fellow citizens. The Passport Service Project Team at the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed the development in response to a parliamentary question (PQ) from the Meath East Labour TD Dominic Hannigan. Hannigan - the only civil engineer in Dail Eireann - had previously fought for the inclusion of chartered engineers on the list. He told the Dail last December: "As Engineers Ireland has pointed out, engineers have an ethical and legal status that is well established in law. It is entirely reasonable to suggest that a profession whose integrity is perhaps more intact in the public mind at this time than that of bank managers, lawyers or even some members of the clergy should be allowed to perform this particular function. "Their doing so would reduce the paperwork burden on other professions and, as such, I do not expect that members of those professions would object to chartered engineers being afforded the same status as them in this regard," Hannigan said. "The Director of Passport Services Fiona Penollar has asked me to respond to your PQ regarding expanding the acceptable list of witnesses for Section 7 of the passport application form. A review has taken place and we have approved the inclusion of the following witnesses," the Passport Service Project Team stated in a reply to Hannigan's PQ. The officially acceptable additional witnesses are: • Chartered engineer • Dentist • Vet • Nurse • Physiotherapist • Speech therapist • Lecturer • Credit Union manager • Pharmacist • Teacher The full list of acceptable witnesses for section 7 are now: • Member of An Garda Síochána • Member of clergy • Medical doctor • Lawyer • Bank manager/assistant bank manager • Elected public representative • Notary public/commissioner for oaths • Peace commissioner • School principal/vice principal • Accountant • Chartered engineer • Dentist • Vet • Nurse • Physiotherapist • Speech therapist • Lecturer • Credit Union manager • Pharmacist • Teacher