Written answers
Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Passport Services
Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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4. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will ensure passport applicants are informed immediately if there is a problem with their application (details supplied) to allow applicants to rectify the problem earlier; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21983/24]
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Passport Service has issued over 460,000 passports to date this year and is on track to have issued half a million passports by the end of this month.
Virtually all complete passport applications are being processed within advertised turnaround times.
All passport applications require supporting documentation to some degree, whether it is a photo uploaded online for an adult's renewal application, or documents necessary to validate the identity and entitlement to Irish citizenship of a first time applicant. In the cases of children's applications, witnessed identity and consent forms are required to ensure that guardians have consented to the issuance of a passport for the child.
The Passport Service has a system whereby applications do not go to the back of the queue following a request for further documents. When the Passport Service receives the required additional documentation from the applicant, the application is prioritised for checking.
Online applications for which additional photos are requested are processed within a maximum of 10 working days of the receipt of the new photo. All other requests for further documents are processed within 15 working days of receipt of the additional documents, for both paper and online application types.
The Passport Service continually works to enhance the service to provide further efficiencies for customers. A number of improvements were made to the passport online platform in 2023. These include a customised list of the supporting documents required for first-time applicants, an eircode look-up tool to facilitate the input of postal addresses and a new integration feature with the general register office. This integration benefits a significant cohort of first-time child applicants, who are no longer required to submit a physical birth certificate. These upgrades help to reduce the administrative burden for applicants. In addition, the customised list of documents provides a bespoke list for each applicant based on his or her particular situation, which will reduce the number of applications for which insufficient or incorrect supporting documents are submitted.
The Passport Service has also been actively working to reduce the number of original documents required for a passport application, and very positive changes have been introduced in this regard over the past 18 months. In cases where further supporting documents are required from the applicant, every effort is made to let the applicant know as soon as possible. Applications are checked in date order from when they are received and it is not possible to notify the applicant of issues sooner, as a full entitlement check must be done on an application by an qualified checker in order to identify if there are errors in the submitted material or if further material is required.
The Passport Service has public education materials and detailed instructions on the application process, available online: www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/passports/how-to-apply-for-a-passport. These materials are regularly communicated to citizens via our social media channels.
Additionally, should assistance be required with an application, our Customer Service agents are available through phone and webchat services from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. They can be contacted at +353 1 671 1633, or via the WebChat service: www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/passports/contact-us/#webchat
The public offices of the Passport Service in Dublin 2 and in Cork operate a four-day Urgent Appointment service for renewal applicants. The Dublin office also offers a one-day Urgent Appointment service.
Renewal applicants who have already submitted a passport application either through Passport Online or Post Passport can book an urgent appointment and visit the Passport Office to apply for a passport. Once a passport has been issued, their original application will be cancelled and the fee will be refunded.
Further information on the Urgent Appointment service for renewal applicants is available at: www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/passports/urgent-appointment/
The Passport Online service offers Irish citizens the ability to apply online for their passport 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is a user-friendly, efficient service that consistently offers processing times up to 4 times faster than paper-based passport renewal applications. Passport Online is now available to 99.9% of all applicants across the world.
I would ask the Deputy to encourage his constituents to apply online well in advance of their travel date for the quickest, cheapest and most efficient service.
Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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5. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is aware of the passport service contacting witnesses to passport applications on weekends when the persons commonly used as witnesses, such as GPs, may be inaccessible; his proposals to ensure this does not unnecessarily result in new witness forms being sought, thereby unduly delaying the processing of applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22053/24]
Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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6. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is aware of the new Garda roster resulting in members who witness passport applications being unavailable over multiple subsequent days and that this is leading to applicants being obliged to submit new witness forms and unduly delaying the processing of applications; his proposals to address the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22054/24]
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 6 together.
There are certain passport applications for applicants resident in Ireland that require forms to be witnessed by a member of An Garda Síochána. The witnessing of these forms is a vital element of the identity verification process for the Passport Service, as it provides initial assurance that the person in the photograph is the same person submitting the passport application form. These include:
- Certificate of Identity on Post Passport (paper) applications (section 8 and 9 of the application form)
- Identity Verification Forms for First time adult online applications
- Child Identity and Consent Forms for First time child online applications.
In the case of children's applications, witnessing of these forms ensures that the consent of guardians is verified. Garda stations maintain logs of these witnessed forms for verification purposes.
For each application that requires a Garda witness, the Passport Service calls the relevant Garda station to confirm that the Garda witness recorded the witnessed form in the station logbook. Passport Service staff will call the relevant Garda station up to three times to verify the Garda's signature. Where the Passport Service cannot reach the Garda station, there is a system in place whereby the Passport Service contacts the relevant Superintendent’s Office to verify the details. There is no requirement for the Passport Service to speak to the witnessing Garda as long as the Garda Station can confirm the record of the form being witnessed in the station logbook.
The Passport Service offers overtime, on a voluntary basis, to staff when necessary to meet demand, avoid delays and prevent backlogs. This means that on occasion, witnesses may be contacted at the weekend. This should not cause an application to be delayed however, as the Passport Service policy is to attempt to contact the witness up to three times to verify their signature. If a witness is not available at the weekend, the Passport Service will attempt to contact them again on a working day.
The Passport Service is continuously looking at ways to make the application process easier for applicants, including the enhancement of digital services. My Department would welcome the digitisation of the records maintained by An Garda Síochána when witnessing applications.
In addition to this, the Passport Service maintains a close working relationship with An Garda Síochána and regularly offers training and guidance to Gardaí on the correct completion of the required identity and consent forms.
It is not the experience of the Passport Service that there are widespread issues in the system of witnessing passport applications by An Garda Síochána generally, or in particular, causing applications to need new witness forms.
The Passport Service takes its responsibility to protect the integrity of the Irish passport very seriously. The Irish passport has a strong international reputation due to the strength of the security features within the passport book and the robust processes involved in its issuance. The Irish passport was recently ranked 2nd in the Henley Global Passport Index as it provides our citizens with visa-free access to 193 countries.
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