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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 63 together.

The passport service's recent achievements, which I have outlined in response to earlier questions, are thanks to the operational and staffing plans my Department has put in place for 2023, as well as the efficiencies allowed for through Passport Online.

There are currently 834 staff in the passport service. The Department has run 18 recruitment competitions since 2021 to address staffing needs in the passport service, and another is currently under way. The passport service has scaled up the customer service hub significantly over the past 18 months and plans to ensure that excellent customer service is maintained during this current period of peak demand.

We are currently in the busiest time of year for passports as we approach the summer holiday season. However, the passport service has already seen application numbers coming down in recent weeks. This suggests that most applications for the summer season have already been processed or submitted. The high application numbers seen during the first half of the year came following an effective communications campaign run by the Department during the winter of 2022 and spring of 2023. The campaign focused on the benefits of applying online and encouraged citizens to check their passport in advance of booking travel. I strongly encourage the Deputy to advise his constituents of the advantages of using the substantially more efficient online service, which is now used by more than 90% of applicants worldwide.

Due to the nature of the paper application process, it will always be a slower service. The turnaround time for all paper applications is eight weeks. Given that less than 10% of applicants now use the paper service, it is not the priority service for the passport service in the context of strategy and resources.

Applications for which queries have been raised and further supporting documents are submitted do not go to the back of the queue. All such applications are processed within 15 working days from when the additional documents are received by the passport service. This includes paper applications.

Paper applications do take longer and so there can be up to 30,000 paper applications in the system at any one time. This does lead to significantly more queries with paper applications compared to online, which is faster. It is only in cases of a life or death issues that a passport can be prioritised. I am confident that the planning and staffing measures implemented, along with other improvements, will continue to have a positive impact on passport processing times for the remainder of this year.

See this speech in context