Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 23 together.

I congratulate Deputy McCarthy on his election to Dáil Éireann. I very much look forward to working with him constructively. I am pleased to tell the Deputy that the passport service is an excellent position to deliver the demand forecast for the rest of the year. Ensuring that we have enough staff to respond to demand is a key priority for my Department and is kept under constant review. The number of officers employed by the passport service from 2020 to 2024, inclusive, on 31 January for each of these years, is as follows: in 2020 there were 615 staff employed; in 2021 that dipped to 465 staff; in 2022 there were 723 staff; in 2023 there were 742 staff; and in 2024 there were 789 staff.

The passport service is well-staffed for this year, with 825 officers, a significant increase in staffing. In recent months, 61 officers have been assigned to the Passport Office in Balbriggan, 41 officers have been assigned to our Dublin 2 offices and the Deputy will be pleased to know that 12 officers have been assigned to the Passport Office in Cork. An additional 50 members of staff will be assigned later this month and into next month to ensure that the passport service is fully staffed to meet demand throughout the year.

With regard to the Deputy's query on turnaround times, the passport service, I am pleased to say, is successfully meeting high demand for passports with turnaround times well-ahead of target and no backlogs. Passport turnaround times are ten working days for simple adult online renewals, 15 working days for complex or child online renewals, 20 working days for first-time online applications and eight weeks for Post Passport paper applications. It is important to note that processing times do not begin when the applicant applies online. Processing time is calculated once the Passport Office receives any supporting documentation - it is important to note it can only process the application when it has the documentation it needs.

With regard to the Deputy's questions about the number of first-time and renewal passport applications received in each of the years 2020 to 2024, inclusive, in the interests of time, I might send that information to him in writing. In 2020, there were 118,827 first-time applications, which rose to 276,574 in 2024.

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