Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy McCarthy for the question. The passport service is experiencing a high level of demand for passports as our citizens prepare for upcoming summer travel plans. Thanks to operational and staffing plans implemented by my Department, I am pleased to say that the passport service is successfully responding to the current level of demand, and we have issued over 440,000 passports and passport cards to date this year. All turnaround times are at their target level and there is no backlog.

This time of year is particularly busy for the customer service hub based in Balbriggan. I was out there recently meeting staff, and I am pleased to say that agents in the hub are responding to almost 2,400 phone and webchat queries per day, which is an extraordinary number. Ensuring that the passport service has enough staff to respond to demand is a key priority for my Department and is kept under constant review. The passport service undertakes advance workforce planning based on the forecasted demand for passports and my Department’s management board approves this staffing plan annually.

As a result of this extensive planning process, the passport service is well resourced to meet forecasted demand for 2025. There are currently 858 staff working in the passport service, which represents 98% of the approved staffing target. This includes 133 temporary clerical officers who have joined the passport service since November 2024. We now have the highest number of sanctioned staff ever in our passport service.

Having recently visited the largest passport office in Balbriggan and seen the work being done there by staff who are responding to customer queries, managing huge volumes of documents and processing applications from start to finish, I say "thank you" to them for the work they are doing. I am satisfied that the current level of staffing is appropriate to meet demand for this critical citizen service.

I encourage people, as we all should, to please check their passport because that can help with meeting the demand. We can always try to help people in difficult situations. It is much easier if people check their passport, and they will be much less likely to get in trouble with the family as well. You do not want to be the one who tells them they cannot go on their summer holidays.

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