Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes, it was on this issue of the numbers. I appreciate the difficulty the Passport Office is in and that it and the Minister are doing their best. I also appreciate that having to answer calls from constituency offices distracts people from work they would otherwise be doing and it is a vicious cycle. However, the ability of parliamentarians to ask questions on behalf of their constituents is being limited, especially when it is for people who have been told their passport will be available by a particular date and make plans on that basis. It is then not available and an emergency arises when they have booked a family holiday or trip has been booked for a certain date and were told the passport would be available two days ago. It still says the passport was available two days ago, but it is not and then we cannot contact the office.

When we contact the Passport Office, or our offices contact the Passport Office, we are told by the officials that they will make their best efforts. I appreciate that they are making their best efforts. If one follows up again because the passport has not arrived two days before the travel date, one is told that it constitutes a second inquiry even though it is an inquiry about the same passport. I would worry about limiting this. The permanent government has to be held to account. The only way that it can be done in certain instances is via Deputies.

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