Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy MacSharry for the question. I am happy to be here tonight as several of my colleagues are laid low with Covid. When you are a junior Minister, you cover many issues. Today, I am on ministerial rota duty and that is why the Deputy is looking at me across the floor tonight, delighted to be here.

I met the Waterford postmasters three weeks ago to discuss various issues of the postmasters' union that Deputy MacSharry has raised, and I was delighted to meet with them.

The passport service is proactively managing the current demand for passports and has put in place resources and structures to address the estimated significant increase in demand for passports in 2022. The passport service expects to receive 1.4 million passport applications in 2022. So far this year, it has issued 264,000 passports. This means 41% of the total number of passports issued in 2021 have been issued in less than three months this year.

There are currently more than 182,000 applications in the passport service system. While this is a very high volume of applications, it does not represent a backlog. These applications are all being processed in the usual way, with a continuous stream of new applications and a continuous dispatch of completed passports occurring every day. The passport service is currently processing 45% of adult online renewal applications in one working day, while 95% of online child renewal passports are issued within the advertised processing time of 15 working days. These turnaround times, especially for adult renewals, are possible due to the inherent efficiencies of the online system and cannot be achieved in the traditional paper-based system. They also compare very favourably with processing times internationally in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Denmark and Spain.

As a result of the investment the Department is making in the passport service, the turnaround time for first-time applications has recently been reduced from 40 working days to 35 working days, even in the context of the unprecedented volume of applications being received. The passport service is focused on reducing this processing time even further in the coming months. The passport service continually works to streamline the application process and to improve its customer service. It also monitors and responds to issues that arise for applicants during the application process.

A number of measures are in place to ensure that passport applicants complete their applications correctly. The Department of Foreign Affairs website has been updated to include a new passport service section where applicants can easily find out what additional documents are required for their type of application. When applying online, the applicant is given comprehensive instructions on what documents to submit. The customer service hub is available to answer applicants' questions by phone or webchat. The customer service hub handled almost 170,000 queries in 2021 and has responded to more than 60,000 queries since the beginning of this year.

The passport service is also working on public education materials, including video tutorials, with a view to assisting applicants to complete their application correctly. The passport service operates its paper-based, mail-in passport express service through An Post. This provides an option for citizens to submit their passport application through the network of more than 1,000 post offices across the State. All types of passport application, both renewal and first-time applications, can be made via the passport express service. The Department of Foreign Affairs is in regular contact with An Post regarding possible initiatives to develop this service further. Currently, more than 90% of passport applications from Ireland and overseas are received through the passport online service. This is an increase from 47% in 2019.

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