Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. I do not want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, as they say, and I must compliment his Department. The staff have been very helpful to me in dealing with very difficult times for families in the past number of years.

What is being done to ensure first-time passports are issued within a reasonable timeframe? There are families who are given an estimated issue date and who book a holiday, perhaps for a week later, only to be told after the estimated issue date that there is a problem with the application. Surely such notice can be given at an earlier stage rather than at the final stage? I dealt with a family of five who were supposed to go on holiday last week, with the baby's passport to be issued on 5 May. The parents found out there was an issue on 6 May, which meant they had to leave the baby at home. It was okay for that family because there was somebody to look after the child but it is not an ideal situation. The staff in my office are pulling the hair out of their heads because, like the staff of every other politician, they are inundated with calls and are spending 45 minutes on the telephone waiting for a reply. It is not good enough in this day and age and it is creating serious issues that are taking a lot of time to resolve.

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