Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I very much regret the difficulties being encountered by his constituents. It is not the first time Deputy Breathnach has raised this issue with me and I am anxious to ensure that the matters are resolved, notwithstanding current challenges.

Different turnaround times apply to applications, depending on whether the applications are to renew a passport, replace a passport that has been lost, damaged or stolen or to apply for a passport for the first time. The Deputy will be aware of the security considerations that pertain to passports and the need to implement robust anti-fraud measures, particularly in the current security environment. First-time applications, therefore, take much longer due to the security checks and issues involved.

The passport service aims to process passport express renewal applications within 15 working days. This target is in place for over a year and is communicated very clearly in all An Post promotional materials and on my Department’s website. It is also regularly communicated by me in responses to parliamentary questions and through written correspondence with Members who may have queries from time to time. The current turnaround time for renewals is 16 working days, one working day over our target turnaround time. Currently, first-time applications and applications concerning passports that have been lost, stolen or damaged take 22 working days, two working days over the target time.

Meanwhile, online renewals are being processed in ten working days plus postage time. Turnaround times are updated weekly on the passport service website. My Department also keeps An Post apprised of the situation. It is not the case that applicants are being advised of a ten day turnaround by my Department. My understanding is that this advice is not being given either by An Post. I want to be very clear that the target for renewals is 15 working days - in other words, three weeks. If there are instances of a ten-day turnaround being advised I am interested to have the details. I very much regret the difficulties as expressed by Deputy Breathnach and if he would provide me with the information as to where the advice was given on the matter of ten days I would be happy to have it examined.

While we are falling marginally behind our projected turnaround times for passport express applications, I believe the Passport Office is doing an impressive job considering the exceptionally high volumes of applications received in recent months. To date this year, over 350,000 applications have been processed compared to 500,000 in all of 2016.

My Department has taken a number of measures to handle the exceptional volumes of applications, including targeted overtime. Almost 230 temporary clerical officers have been recruited and a number of additional permanent staff have been assigned to the Passport Office. Workloads are continually reallocated between the three Passport Offices to optimise an efficient service. We will continue to keep these measures under careful review to ensure that the impact of any further increase in demand is minimised.

In general terms, it is considered best practice to apply for a new passport in plenty of time and to allow at least six weeks for a passport to be processed in case any issues arise, for example, incomplete documentation, which often arises. I strongly advise checking the remaining validity on passports before booking travel, paying particular attention to the validity of children's passports, which are shorter. My Department provides a free e-mail renewal reminder service to all passports holders and I urge Deputies to join me in promoting that service.

The Deputy raised the matter of retrieving passports mid-process which have been submitted through Passport Express. As the Deputy can imagine, asking staff to locate individual passport applications among the 70,000 or more that are being processed at any one time is time consuming and disruptive, with possible knock-on consequences for other applicants. Therefore, we only do this in limited circumstances such as illness or death of an immediate family member abroad.

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