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

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. First-time applications are the most complex due to the necessary checks involved to verify the identity and citizenship status of the applicant. All passport applications are subject to the requirements of the Passports Act 2008, as amended. I am pleased that the turnaround time to fully complete first-time online applications remains at 20 working days.

The passport service continually works to enhance the service to provide further efficiencies for customers. A number of improvements were made to the passport online platform in April 2023. These include a customised list of the supporting documents required for first-time applicants, an eircode look-up tool to facilitate the input of postal addresses and a new integration feature with the general register office. This integration benefits a significant cohort of first-time child applicants, who are no longer required to submit a physical birth certificate. So far, almost 16,000 birth certificates have been digitally received by the passport service in this way. These upgrades help to reduce the administrative burden for applicants. In addition, the customised list of documents provides a bespoke list for each applicant based on his or her particular situation, which will reduce the number of applications for which insufficient or incorrect supporting documents are submitted.

The passport service has also been actively working to reduce the number of original documents required for a passport application, and very positive changes have been introduced in this regard over the past 18 months. In cases where further supporting documents are required from the applicant, every effort is made to let the applicant know as soon as possible. It is currently not possible to notify the applicant sooner due to the volume of applications being received.

Paper applications take longer and there can be up to 30,000 paper applications in the system at any one time. This leads to significantly more queries with paper applications compared to online which is faster. It is only in cases of a life or death issue that a passport can be prioritised. Applications enter a queue and are checked in order of date received. The passport service has a system in place whereby these applications do not go to the back of the queue. Requests for additional photographs are processed within ten working days of receipt of the new photo for online applications. All other requests are processed within 15 working days of receipt of the additional documents.

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