Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A passport is a bit like a security blanket. It is something that we need to know is in a drawer for the day when something happens and we need it. We do not know why we will need it in future. Perhaps it may be to travel to see a relative. That is what I am trying to articulate.

People have understood that the service has had to be closed. I thank the Minister of State for confirming that the backlog will be addressed. It is about the communication around that to reassure, for example, the lady who contacted me today, whose passport expires in July. She is not worried about it today but come June, she will be genuinely stressed about it. While some might assert that she will not be travelling as none of us are planning travel at this stage, we do know that there are cases where people need to travel for essential reasons, such as a death in the family. It is about providing that security to people and communicating clearly that the service will resume, it is recognised that there is a backlog and a plan is in place. It must be communicated to them that their concerns are understood and attempts are being made to address them. People should be given timelines so that they know when they will receive their passports.

However, I do want to thank the Passport Office for the exceptional work it has done under pressurised conditions. Of course, the staff have been taken to do more urgent work for the State in response to Covid and in processing the PUP. I thank the staff for being available in those emergency situations and for resolving issues in cases where they have been brought in and asked to consider various applications.

We are moving into a new phase in the pandemic. Some day we will see discretionary international travel return, rather than just emergency international travel. Understandably, people like to have their passport in their back pocket. It is a fundamental document of the State and a person. It is important to them that they can get it back and put it in their drawer, up-to-date, ready for the day when they either need it or want it.

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