Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade will appreciate the great work done by the Passport Office. I wish to raise a specific issue with him in regard to that office. When a family has travel plans made, has a date booked and is waiting on a new passport for a child, great stress can be brought on that family when that passport application is returned. Very often this is close to the issuing date because the Passport Office has failed to secure verification of the Garda witness. As the Tánaiste may know, the Passport Office now telephones the Garda station. If it does not get through on three occasions, the office will return the application to the family, resulting in huge frustration and stress.

I put it to the Tánaiste that there is a more efficient way of doing this verification. I appreciate it is an important part of the process but I strongly suggest that verification should be done by an email system. It would be more efficient, transparent and speedy. I ask the Tánaiste, as the Minister for foreign affairs, to please take this issue up with the Passport Office and try to introduce this change. I raised this issue previously under a Topical Issue matter a number of months ago. I just want to try to continue to highlight the issue because I think we can avoid the level of stress and frustration brought on families when they have a travel date pending.

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