Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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3. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the measures in place to ensure that a backlog of passport applications does not emerge in 2023; and the measures he will take to ensure that passports, including for first-time applicants, can be secured in an accelerated manner in urgent and emergency cases. [19792/23]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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What measures is the Tánaiste putting in place to ensure we do not see the backlog of passport applications that we saw in recent years? Will he outline the measures that will be taken to ensure that applicants for passports, particularly first-time applicants, can have access to an accelerated processing of a passport when it is necessary?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Carthy for the question. As a result of the strategic planning under way in my Department since last year, the passport service is meeting the current high demand for passports. Almost 350,000 passports have been issued to date in 2023. Just under 1.1 million passports in total are expected to be issued this year. There are no passport application backlogs and all turnaround times are at their target levels.

Staffing remains a priority and recruitment will continue in the coming months. Approximately 100 temporary clerical officers have been assigned to the passport service since January 2023 as well as more than 90 permanent staff. The customer service hub is currently responding to an average of 3,000 queries per day.

The passport service continually works to enhance its services to the public. I am pleased to announce that a number of improvements were made recently to the passport online platform. These improve a customised list of the supporting documents for first-time applicants, an Eircode look-up tool to facilitate the input of postal addresses and a new integration feature with the general register office. This integration will benefit a significant cohort of first-time child applicants who will no longer be required to submit a physical birth certificate. These are very welcome innovations. So far, 5,600 digital birth certificates have been received by the passport service. Online continues to be the most efficient way to apply for a passport.

I am pleased to update Deputies further on the MLA portal. This was launched on 17 March with 33 queries received in the first week. The passport service offers an in-person urgent appointment service for passport renewal at its offices in Dublin and Cork. Due to the complex nature of first-time applications, it is not possible to process these at urgent appointments. The passport service has a dedicated team of people who expedite applications in cases of medical emergency or the death of a family member abroad, including for first-time applicants.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I acknowledge the staff of the Passport Office who turned a very difficult situation around. Unfortunately, the many people who missed the opportunity to either go on holiday or attend important events will never be forgiving with regard to the experience they had when things were at their worst. Nonetheless, I acknowledge that there has been much improvement and that when the passport service works, it works well. For simple renewals, the process is effective and efficient. Everybody involved with it should be commended. There is a difficulty, which is dealt with in a later question, with the process for first-time applications relating to children. When new and additional information is sought or there is a query on the information, an application is effectively put back to the end of the queue and the entire process starts again. I ask the Tánaiste if there are efforts to resolve that particular issue.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will be dealing with that matter in more detail later. We are continually focusing on improving the situation for first-time applicants. I have outlined the significant innovations to facilitate that, particularly in terms of birth registration in respect of which there has always been a delay. There will now also be lower costs through avoiding the need for physical birth certificates to be supplied.

The system does have the impact that the Deputy has outlined in terms of applications going to the bottom of the pile, so to speak, but we will continue to work on this to see if we can expedite it even further. To date this year, the turnaround time has been exceptional. I appreciate the Deputy's comments in respect of the staff. The longest call on any one day last week was five minutes. Ccalls are being responded to very quickly. We will continue to seek to improve services all around.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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This is an area in respect of which we need to improve. I am sure the Tánaiste's office has dealt with such situations. There is nothing worse than someone in a household realising that a passport is out of date or, worse, that there is an understanding of the length of time it takes for a first-time application to be resolved. In that context, I ask the Tánaiste to engage with the Passport Office to arrange for the putting in place of a facility for urgent cases. I accept that the facilities are there in emergency cases. For urgent cases, however, there should be a mechanism whereby first-time applicants can present at the office in order to get an accelerated passport. There can be many instances where that urgency is required. It is one of the final pieces that is required in order to ensure everybody using the passport service has a good experience.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Obviously, we keep urging people to get their passports organised well in advance of holidays or foreign travel more generally. There are 814 staff now assigned to the passport service, which is a significant expansion. The core of the question is what the passport service can do to ensure that applicants complete their applications correctly. As I said, the passport service continually works to streamline the application process and to improve its customer service. It also monitors the response to issues that arise for applicants during the application process.

There are a number of measures now in place to ensure that passport applicants complete their applications correctly. A recent upgrade to the Passport Online platform provides first-time applicants with a bespoke list of the documents they need to submit, customised for the applicants’ specific circumstances. The passport service offers video guides to assist citizens in submitting the correct photos and consent forms for children's applications. These short videos provide simple and easy-to-follow tips to ensure that photos and children's consent forms will meet the passport service requirements. The customer service hub is available to answer applicants’ questions by phone or web chat. The hub has handled more than 200,000 queries to date in 2023.