Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

It is on the record in that case.

As I said in my opening remarks, I call on the CPSU to call off the action immediately. We concluded the public sector talks that were under way at Croke Park. In that context, there is every reason for the union to instruct its members to call off the action. If this happened, we could return to normal activity within a matter of days.

The key issue for us would be to recruit the temporary staff. We have sanctioned the recruitment of up to 50 people. There are 50 people who could have jobs, albeit temporary, in the coming days and weeks if the action were suspended. This would benefit all those seeking passports and help get rid of the backlog. Overtime would also be available. There has been a ban on overtime in recent months. Overtime would help eliminate the backlog relatively quickly and assist in returning to the turnaround times for which the passport service was known. The passport service had a very good record prior to the industrial dispute.

With regard to the KPMG report, a value-for-money audit was carried out. As part thereof, it was recommended that a review of the question of outsourcing take place. That review is under way. That will not deal with the current issues or backlog. The review recommended in the value-for-money audit commenced prior to the industrial action.

Outsourcing gives rise to issues, principally security issues, as referred to in a previous parliamentary question. We will await the outcome of the review and inform the Deputy and House of the results.

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