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

We know, because of the number of people who contact me in this House from all parties, that many people have had difficulty in getting their passports in the timelines they need or want. Approximately 7% of passport applications that have been given a delivery date can go beyond such a date. We are working intensively to correct that to make sure that if a date is given on the system, the Passport Office delivers before or on that date in order that people can get more certainty on their travel arrangements and so on. By the start of February, we will have gone from approximately 460 people working in the Passport Office to approximately 920 people. That is effectively a doubling of the staffing throughout the Passport Office. Some of those staff are temporary and some are permanent. We are trying to get on top of many of the issues the Deputy has raised.

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