Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The key to this is we are at the optimum staffing level. I have discussed this with officials with regard to the balance between temporary and permanent. Competitions through the Public Appointments Service, PAS, and so on are necessary, but we have to make sure we have a critical number of staff that can do all of this. We have the budget for it. While obviously the pandemic was a big factor and there were considerable backlogs, those running and in charge of the service feel we should be tapering down to more normal levels in 2024 or 2025. The sense within the Department and the passport service is that we are over the hump. We are not quite over the hump, because we think 2023 could be like 2022, but the resources are now in place.