John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One of the major failures has been the inability of people to get accurate and timely information from the service. Even looking at the website today, it is saying that the turnaround for renewal for children is 15 days. I am dealing with many families who have had to cancel holidays because the parents have been able to get their passports renewed but the children's, even though all the documentation has been furnished in a timely manner, have taken months to turn around. That is in contrast to what is on the Department's website - a 15-day turnaround time.

There needs to be an expansion of the service. My colleague, Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile, has long advocated for the opening of a passport office in Belfast. That now needs to be looked at because one of the major issues has been the massive influx of passport applications from the Six Counties. There has been a failure to plan for that expected increase and it has not been catered for. I urge the Minister to look again at the possibility of opening a passport office in Belfast.

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