Mr. Joseph Nugent:

I appreciate that.

Senator Walsh asked the total revenue for 2012. I do not have the figure to hand but I will revert with it in due course. As I stated, the average revenue received per passport in 2012 was €63. That has increased, from €59.85 in 2011, €54.65 in 2010 and €55.32 in 2009. There has been a gradual increase in the average revenue per book produced, but I will revert with the total figure.

As regards an explanation for the €63 figure, the Senator himself answered the question in that the balance between children's passports and adult passports, and other revenue, such as the additional charge for lodging an application at the counter, for example, emergency fees, have an impact on the total amount. However, it is primarily related to the balance and mix of adult and child passports in that area. That is why the figure is not on the higher side. I guess, if we are charging €26.50 for a child passport and €80 for an adult, one can see the numbers that are there. We issue, as I stated, approximately 0.25 million passports to children during the year and it is through that difference that the revenue figure occurs.

In terms of staffing levels in the period, in 2009 the total staffing complement of permanent staff was in the order of 340, with a further 140 temporary staff taken on at that time. Last year the figure of permanent staff had reduced, from those 340 to 280, and we would have taken on approximately 140 temporary staff as well. In essence, there was a reduction of 60 permanent staff members over that five-year period.

On achievement of overtime savings, we have streamlined a lot of the existing processes of passport issuance. A lot of time was taken up in dealing with large numbers appearing at the public counters. This is one example of how we addressed this. That, in itself, consumes a considerable amount of time. Equally, there was the level of rejection of applications through the ordinary post service where over 90% of such passport applications presented problems. By switching applicants into the more effective streamlined systems of Passport Express, we have managed to achieve efficiencies in that area.

We have also looked at streaming out and breaking out applications into what we call twin lanes. In essence, this is looking to see are there applications that can be approved more easily than some of the more complex applications and get large numbers of those, from a throughput point of view, and spend less time having to do it. There are efficiencies around our general processes and looking to see how the organisation is run.

Probably, the biggest significant change has been the use of the temporary staff for seasonal demand. Previously, much of the overtime would have been spent in dealing with the extreme peaks during the summer period. By taking on our temporary staff that little bit earlier, we have been in a position to achieve a greater level of understanding amongst the temporary staff and let them respond more during the summer peak. That, in itself, has generated enormous saving.

The reduction of the permanent staffing numbers reflects the approach we have taken to the way in which the staffing model of the organisation operates. Rather than having large numbers of staff who have less work to do during the winter months, it is much better to have them productive year round and then have more staff come in to supplement the temporary seasonal demand that is required.

Senator Walsh asked about contracting out the service during the summer peak. There are complexities involved, most particularly with the standards body in the area of passport issuance, the International Civil Aviation Organisation. It is their view, and their recommended best practice, that the State should retain under direct control, not contracted out, the entitlement processes. One can understand that, that the State has ownership of who, as Deputy Eric Byrne referred to it, has this important significant document of identity for the Irish State. There are limits to what can be achieved around that space but it is not something that we would dismiss out of hand. It is something we keep under review.

On amendments made to the Act in relation to children, Deputies Durkan and Eric Byrne referred to some of the complexities associated with this process. On the residency issue, the reckonable residency calculation is extremely complex and whereas that is not primarily an issue for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - it is an issue for the Department of Justice and Equality - it nonetheless is the area that consumes a significant proportion of our time. The documentation requirements associated with establishing what is reckonable residency are not easy by any means. Deputy Durkan certainly has been in contact with the office around such problems that have emerged. Most particularly, one can get into situations where, as the Deputy referred, one has some children who are entitled to a passport and a brother or sister suddenly finds himself or herself that he or she is not by factor of birth. That will become less of an issue in the future but, particularly for those children who were born around the period associated with 2005, there are more of those anomalies that we see. Especially, as they become older and are getting into the space of travelling, it probably emerges more than might have been the case up to that point.

On a campaign of advertising, I am pleased to say that last weekend the passport service took a stand at Holiday World. It is the second year in a row that we have taken that. As a result of that campaign at the weekend, there are approximately 3,000 additional citizens who took the opportunity to register on our expiry reminder service. That is one small example of how advertising can have a positive impact for the organisation. I encourage members to refer to citizens who are in touch with them that we have a simple reminder service. It takes 30 seconds to register to remind yourself of when your passport is due to expire. It is a service well worth using.

Deputy Crowe raised a number of operational and logistical questions around the use of stamps, phones, etc. I take on board much of what he said. We need, as I stated in my opening remarks, to balance some of these demands that often are seen as not ideal against what we think are reasonable measures to protect against identity theft and fraud. I hear what he is saying about the stamp. It is something we have considered.

We are looking to see how we can overcome those issues. That is something we will take away and look at further. I agree that the concept of using a paper stamp in this day and age is far from the most secure method, but it is better than not having a stamp. That is all I would say for the moment.
Certainly the witnessing element that is required most particularly for those people who are not resident in the State is very different. Most people who apply for a passport are obviously applying within the State and their interaction is directly through the Garda Síochána. I thank the Garda Síochána for the work they do in providing that witnessing service. It is very important from our perspective. Clearly, outside the State there is a particular challenge, but we will see where we can go with that.
In relation to certainty, mobile phones are clearly a problem. The traditional view has been that by establishing a physical relationship with somebody's place through a landline telephone, one has a greater level of certainty that the person one is talking to on the telephone is who they say they are. Obviously, as time moves on, there are fewer fixed landlines in place and people rely far more on mobile phones. It is a problem we are aware of and I do not know if we have a particular answer to it.
The Deputy asked about the level of availability of the Passport Express service in Northern Ireland. I think there are about 15 post offices that provide the service. I accept there are a number of places where the service is not as available as it should be. Coincidentally, I am meeting with the Post Office in London next month to talk through some of the issues associated with the availability of that service to establish whether a greater use of the post office network, most particularly in England, Scotland and Wales, could be provided. At present, the service is available only in the main post office in Liverpool and Glasgow. Clearly, that is not the spread one would expect in a country of that size. I was speaking to Ms Assumpta Griffin, who runs our office in London, about this particular issue today and it is an issue we will take up with them.
The service was introduced at a particular point in time. It recognised the effect of the Anglo Irish Agreement and the importance of making passports more readily accessible, particularly in Northern Ireland. It was put in place at that point. It is timely to reassess how that service is operating to ascertain if we can achieve greater use of it, particularly in Britain. I am conscious that 40,000 applicants in England, Scotland and Wales apply for passports each year. To provide a service that is more accessible to those applicants would be in all our interests and it is certainly an issue we will be exploring further with the Post Office.
The Deputy asked about names in Irish. It is something that has caused concern for many people. I used to write back and say that our concern is not about the name that somebody uses; it is about the establishment of two identities. There have been many cases in which individuals have been using and seeking to use alternative names - I am not talking about Irish names per se.One may be trying to find an alternative name to establish a second identity for whatever purpose. In that context the Passport Act has set out the framework in which the name should be used. The Act provides that the name that appears on one's passport should either be the name on one's previous passport or the name used on one's birth certificate, whether that was in English or in Irish, but the idea of establishing the Irish form of one's name is not provided for specifically. It relates to the name with which one was registered or the name used on one's previous passport. However, people have a genuine and reasonable need to change those names on occasion. The Act makes provision for changes of name in relation to, for example, marriage. We look for usage of the name in some way. We accept completely that the usage of the name as Gaeilge in Northern Ireland is clearly a much more sensitive issue than elsewhere. Therefore, when we come across circumstances in which that arises we try to work with the applicant to see what can be done. There are alternative approaches we can take to assist in that regard. One way we have tried to resolve this matter is by providing people with the observation on page 3 of the passport to say something on the lines of "Known in English and in Irish as...".There is some work we can do to enable a person to establish the necessary proofs that the name he or she is using is valid and is not an attempt to set up a second identity. I would be more than happy to speak to the Deputy specifically about that issue. If there are individual issues or if there are MLAs who are coming across problems with that, it is something we would be more than willing to discuss further.
The Deputy talked about a certified copy of the passport. May I clarify whether the Deputy was talking about obtaining a certified copy of an Irish passport?