Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste. I note his willingness to look at the situation and consider what can be done to improve it. The fact of the matter is that we have all had complaints from constituents during holiday time. It obviously does not happen at any other time. However, the processing time for paper applications needs to be looked at, as the Tánaiste has agreed to do, in order to find out what exactly is causing the hold-up and what can be done to improve the situation. That applies to first-time applicants and renewals in respect of paper applications.

As was mentioned in previous questions, the stamping of the documentation relating to a passport overlaps the signature or photograph, which is, in many cases, a requirement to ensure there can be no duplication or reproduction of the photograph or signature separately. That is the reason that requirement is there. I would ask for that to be looked at to try to understand why that is happening.

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