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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 99, 101, 104, 107 and 114 together.

As there are several questions grouped together, I hope the Acting Chairman will give me some extra time to answer. The passport service is continually working to deliver enhanced customer experience and service delivery to our citizens. As we all know, it has been under a lot of pressure this year. It is experiencing an unprecedented volume of demand for passports. This is as a direct result of pent-up demand for travel after two years of pandemic-related restrictions.

This level of demand is not unique to Ireland.

In countries such as the UK and the US, the turnaround time for all types of passports can be up to ten weeks and that is increasing, rather than decreasing. Our passport service has managed to decrease the processing time for first-time online applications from 40 working days to 25 working days in just four months. Additionally, almost half of adult online renewals, which are the vast majority of passport applications, are processed within two working days. Our passport service is performing at its highest capacity ever and is producing an average of 6,000 passports every day.

To achieve these types of results and to continue to improve the service, my Department has made a huge investment in the passport service. In terms of staffing, more than 400 staff have been assigned to the passport service since June 2021, including 120 in recent weeks. The addition of these staff has allowed the passport service to maintain its current turnaround times in the face of enormous levels of demand. In addition to significantly more staff being assigned, the passport service has made three important improvements that will assist our customers in ensuring their passport applications are correct and can be processed without delay.

Many of the new staff have been assigned to the customer service hub and this will greatly increase the number of calls and web chats being answered and will assist with customers getting access to the information they need. This is important because many members of the public contact the offices of Deputies when they are utterly frustrated that they cannot get through to the passport office by phone. We are acting to address this issue and to put a much bigger system in place, which will involve many more people answering calls, to provide a better service for the public in this regard. I referred to this aspect earlier.

Additionally, the passport service released two online video guides that provide tips to ensure that passport photos and witnessed consent forms for children are correctly submitted. We have had to improve communications in this area because there were many examples of incorrect applications. This is not about blaming the public. It is about asking ourselves how we can communicate better to ensure that these mistakes are not made, because they delay everything. Passport photos and witnessed consent forms are some of the main reasons that an application may be delayed, so it is important that customers have all the information they need to ensure that these are submitted correctly. It is our job to ensure that communications improve in this regard. These easy-to-follow video guides are available on my Department's website and social media channels and I encourage all applicants to watch them before they submit their applications.

My Department is also currently running a national radio and print public information campaign reminding our citizens to check their passports and to apply online. This campaign also offers tips to ensure that applications are correct and complete. The campaign is running in ten national newspapers and on national and local radio in Ireland, as well as in Northern Ireland, by the way.

The passport service is experiencing a significant level of demand. I am glad to say, however, that the indications are that demand is already starting to decrease. Initial forecasts for the end of this month show the number of applications received in June may decrease by up to one third from last month. We expect to see demand level off and to return to more normal levels in the coming months and into next year.

Regarding Deputy Griffin's question concerning a passport printer being located in Cork, this is not currently under consideration, given that passport demand is now starting to decrease. There is a question concerning the financial cost of this, given the resourcing we must focus on other areas, such as customer service, efficiency, call centres, etc. I am not going to rule this possibility out, however, and if it makes sense to do it, then we will. My understanding, though, is that turnaround times are not being delayed predominantly because of printing times. We have high-capacity printers in Dublin delivering great numbers of passports by the hour. The delays in getting passports to people who need them on time result predominantly from processing times and the need to answer queries, correct applications that have documentation that must be added to or corrected, etc.

In answer to questions from Deputies Griffin and Aindrias Moynihan regarding the checking of applications as soon as they are received, this is simply a question of the volume of applications currently being submitted. When applications are received, they enter a queue and are checked in order of the date they are received. We do not know and cannot predict which ones will be problematic, if the Deputies understand what I mean. The applications come in and then each one is checked based on delivering a passport in time for the turnover times we have set. Therefore, when we get to a passport application and there is a problem with it in respect of witness consent documentation or a photograph that needs to change or be corrected, or whatever, then that of course, causes a delay. We have worked hard to ensure that the clock does not start again on turnaround times and that, instead, after a file has been corrected, we deliver a passport within 15 working days of that happening. We are actually trying to shorten this time further. People will know that I have intervened, and that the Oireachtas call line has also intervened, in urgent cases to try to ensure that people can get their passports in time for when they need them. This is, essentially, the position.

Passport Online is continuing to expand and is now available to 97% of our citizens around the world. Most recently, Passport Online has been rolled out to first-time applicants in the United Arab Emirates, UAE, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Qatar. The availability of Passport Online worldwide will continue to enhance customer experience and deliver even more efficiencies for the passport service. If there is one thing that I want the public to hear, it is that if people are applying for a passport or to renew a passport, then please do so online. That will enable us to try to get the passport back to people as quickly as we possibly can. Equally, if a mistake is made, then we can make the corrections much faster if an application is made online.

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