Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses to the Committee of Public Accounts. I concur with what Deputy Carthy said about the consular service. In the short time since I was elected, I have dealt with the Department of Foreign Affairs on some very sad occasions on behalf of families. Everybody, from the Minister's adviser, Laura McGonigle, to the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, Rob Lahiff, has played his or her part. It has usually been on Saturdays or Sundays and in most distressing situations and always with a satisfactory outcome. I thank all involved for that.

Unfortunately, however, the experience of passport applications, as the witnesses have heard, and for many constituents of mine, has been dreadful. I have had constituents in tears over holidays they have lost and children being promised things that did not come to pass. Granted, there are worse things happening in the world, but that is not easy to explain when people have done everything they were expected to do.

I have questions about the allocation of staff. How many staff does the Department have allocated to online passport applications? Out of the 846 staff, what is the breakdown of the allocation?