Ms Elizabeth Canavan:

On the helpline, we carried out some analytics prior to the setting up of the call centre. We were doing it very rapidly, so we were always under pressure with the build. Notwithstanding that, any data we had on intentions to travel and bookings made certainly would not have given us cause to think we would have the numbers of calls that we have had. There is no doubt that this volume is way beyond what we would have anticipated. We were on a very tight schedule.

Industry colleagues who have been guiding and helping us have been telling me that it is pretty unprecedented to start up in six weeks. That is not an excuse, it is just the reality. We did our best to anticipate the level of demand but the indications did not give us any sense of that. Notwithstanding that, we would like to further automate the process. As I have said, we pushed out as many certificates as possible for that reason and so most people who wanted a certificate got one. We acknowledge that there have been some bounce backs and we must deal with those. There is a small number still being issued over the next day so.

We are setting up the recovery portal that will actually divert most of those calls online, where a person can complete the form online and fill in the data in their own time. We can generate a certificate based on that. We are looking to further automate the system as we work through and assess what are the kinds of queries that people have so we can process some of those calls quicker.

There is a lot more information available than people may realise. We are trying to direct people to the website also. Mr. Tierney may want to add to this on the stand-up on the all centre. We are adding capability every day.