Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I said, Ennis is increasing capacity to deal with the pressures on the service by having an appointment service in place which ensures better management of demand and capacity. The new staff member in Ennis will start on 28 February, which will increase capacity by 25%. There are two booths available, but the service is currently operating with 1.5. I have been assured by RSA that the staffing changes will improve the backlog. Those who have booked an appointment should please cancel if they are not going to attend because others are waiting.

On the telephone line, I can go back to the RSA regarding waiting times and raise the issue of people trying to contact the office. I can appreciate that people cannot get online and are not getting through on the phone line that is being provided. I will revert to the Deputy in terms of the operational management of that system.

See this speech in context