Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Obviously, we keep urging people to get their passports organised well in advance of holidays or foreign travel more generally. There are 814 staff now assigned to the passport service, which is a significant expansion. The core of the question is what the passport service can do to ensure that applicants complete their applications correctly. As I said, the passport service continually works to streamline the application process and to improve its customer service. It also monitors the response to issues that arise for applicants during the application process.

There are a number of measures now in place to ensure that passport applicants complete their applications correctly. A recent upgrade to the Passport Online platform provides first-time applicants with a bespoke list of the documents they need to submit, customised for the applicants’ specific circumstances. The passport service offers video guides to assist citizens in submitting the correct photos and consent forms for children's applications. These short videos provide simple and easy-to-follow tips to ensure that photos and children's consent forms will meet the passport service requirements. The customer service hub is available to answer applicants’ questions by phone or web chat. The hub has handled more than 200,000 queries to date in 2023.

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