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

I thank the Deputy for the question because it is useful to put this information on the record. There are a number of channels available to Deputies to flag issues that their constituents are having with passport applications. The main issue creating pressure at the moment is the sheer volume of applications. It is off the charts when compared with anything else we have experienced in recent years. There have been record numbers of applications for three months in a row now, that is to say, we have had the highest number of applications ever. There were 137,000 applications in January, over 150,000 in February and there will certainly be more than 100,000 in March. In no previous year did we receive more than 100,000 applications in a month. That is what is driving the pressure. For the most part, the service is actually working reasonably well. In most cases, people applying for straightforward adult passport renewals are getting their passports back within 48 hours. Obviously, it is different for more complicated cases.

We need to have a system that allows our Oireachtas Members to intervene when necessary. In response to the high volume of applications being submitted to the Passport Office, a temporary phone line was established in October of last year to respond to Members' queries on urgent passport cases. That was supposed to be in place temporarily until the end of the year but it is obviously still continuing. This phoneline responded to more than 2,700 queries in 2021 and has already handled more than 3,600 queries to date in 2022. In addition to this, the Passport Office responds to a high volume of written parliamentary questions from Deputies regarding specific applications.

In each case raised by a Deputy, the Passport Office reviews the application in question. However, applications can only be expedited in cases of genuine emergency such as a need for urgent medical treatment overseas or the death of a family member abroad. Such applications are expedited through the travel emergency service. In cases where the estimated issue date has passed and the application is fully complete, the passport service will prioritise the application to ensure that no further delay is experienced.

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