Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his comments on the staff of the Passport Office. They do an extraordinary job under very pressurised circumstances. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of applications for passports this year, on top of a big increase last year. We have made a significant amount of change in the office in terms of efficiency and extra staff. We strengthened the capacity of the passport service by recruiting over 80 permanent staff to respond to the general increase in passport applications. The passport service has obtained sanction for the recruitment of over 230 temporary clerical officers. The new staff will be spread across all offices, including in Cork.

The challenge over timelines is not just about printing the passports themselves, for which the printers are necessary, but the processing and associated security issues. This is very much a feature in the other passport offices, including in Cork. If I felt we needed another printing facility, we would consider it. It would be expensive but we would seek to achieve it. We have increased the capacity significantly.

We have seen a pretty good result from that so far this year compared with the challenges faced last year when many Members came to me or my office seeking assistance with significant numbers of passports. We have not had a repeat of that this year because we learned lessons and put better systems in place this year.

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