Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join Deputy Dempsey in thanking the passport service for the huge amount of work it has done and the reforms it has undergone. Let us consider that it has come through the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit turbulence with the impact that had on passport application numbers and the general significant demand for passports. I often meet constituents who are pleasantly surprised about how quickly the passport arrives. It seems like only yesterday that they took the picture to send off online and the passport arrives the next day or day after that. That is the experience of many people. We can never be complacent about this. We must continue to work on it.

I will send the breakdown of those figures to the Deputy but I can tell her we are very much ahead of target for this year for turnaround times of passport applications.

I will share some Meath-specific information because, as the Deputy will be aware, we are bringing the new design to life for a new redesigned passport book. Residents of Meath will be fond of the fact that Newgrange was prevalent in the current book and I can assure the Deputy that Newgrange will continue to feature in the new one.

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