Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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133. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the WTE within the passport service in each of the years 2019 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29248/23]

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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144. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the length of time it will take to get rid of the backlog for Irish passport application processing. [29645/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 133 and 144 together.

The Passport Service is successfully meeting high demand for passports, and has issued over 536,000 passports to date in 2023. All turnaround times are at their target level, and the Customer Service Hub is responding to an average of 15,000 queries per week. There are no application backlogs, all applications are being processed in the normal way. Over half of all simple adult online renewals are processed within 2 working days.

We are currently in the busiest time of year for passports as we approach the summer holiday season. However, the Passport Service has already seen application numbers coming down in recent weeks. This suggests that most applications for the summer season have already been processed or submitted.

Passport Online is by far the quickest, easiest and cheapest way to apply for a passport. It is an award winning online platform, which places the Irish Passport Service amongst the most innovative in the world. Through Passport Online, citizens also have the option of applying for a passport card, which is valid for travel in the EU, EEA, Switzerland and the UK. Over 90% of applicants across the world now apply using Passport Online, and that figure will continue to grow as the Passport Service's Digital First strategy continues to roll out. Passport Online has allowed for the centralisation of passport processing resulting in greater efficiencies for the Service and for customers. I strongly encourage the Deputies to advise their constituents of the benefits of applying online.

Adequate staffing of the Passport Service to respond to demand continues to be a priority for the Department in 2023 and is an issue that is kept under constant review.

The Department has run 18 competitions since 2021 to address staffing needs in the Passport Service, and another competition to convert temporary staff to permanent staff is currently underway.

Almost 200 Temporary Clerical Officers have been assigned to the Passport Service since January 2023.

In addition to this, over 90 permanent staff have been assigned to the Passport Service since the beginning of the year and over 20 officers have been promoted. The additional staffing numbers are having a very positive impact on the service being provided to our citizens.

The number of Whole Time Equivalent staff working in the Passport Service in each of the years 2019 to date are outlined below in tabular form.