Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I understand that 450 new staff will be employed in the Passport Office. I acknowledge the work of the staff in that office. It has been an extremely busy time for them, particularly in the last number of months. Some were re-tasked to assist the Department of Social Protection and other Departments during the height of the pandemic. I am sure I speak for all Deputies when I express gratitude for the work they have done and for assisting many members of the public. The Minister will be aware of the backlog of paper-based applications and of more complex applications. Indeed, there is a heap of applications by parents for children's first passports that need to be dealt with.

When does the Minister expect those new staff to come on stream? How long will it take to process the backlog, particularly, of paper-based applications?

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