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

The Deputy is correct that people are right to expect a quality service within a reasonable timescale and to expect to be able to get updates and information when they need them. There is a great deal of information online. There is also, effectively, a call centre which is working to update people on passports. I mentioned earlier that over 80,000 people have been in contact with the passport service this year. My job is to ensure that we resource those services. We are planning for a significant increase in demand for passports next year as many people will not have updated or checked their passports because they have not been able to travel for the last 18 months or so. As a result, we expect that there will be a significant and dramatic increase in the need for passport renewals next year. We are planning for that in terms of extra staff and improved systems.

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