Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I remind members and those in the Visitors Gallery to ensure their mobile phones are switched off completely for the duration of the meeting because they cause interference with the recording equipment in committee rooms even in silent mode.

The main item on our agenda is the work of the Passport Office. I am delighted that we are joined by Mr. Joseph Nugent, director of passport services at the Passport Office, and his colleagues, Ms Fiona Penollar and Ms Siobhan Watters. We are fast approaching spring and people are beginning to think about their summer holidays. Those who intend to travel abroad obviously require passports and members will no doubt have experience of being approached by constituents at the last minute before their planned departure to seek assistance with problems they have encountered with their passport applications. As the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade discussed the Estimates for the Passport Office at last week's meeting of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, it is a subject with which we are familiar. We are aware of the pressure which the office faces during the summer period, when it has to process thousands of passports per week. We appeal to people to consider renewing their passports during January and February, which is a quiet time of the year. I commend the office on its new arrangement whereby appointments can be made to deal with non-emergency passport applications. That system is working very well for most people and we are not encountering as many problems as we did in the past. I compliment the staff of the office for the work they do.

The committee visited Balbriggan two years ago to see at first hand how the new passports are processed. A passport is a valuable document and it is complicated to produce. The passport has been improved with new painted pictures as a security measure. I am delighted that the passports include a picture of the world famous Cliffs of Moher.