Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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3. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade how the Government intends to ensure adequate capacity within the passport service this summer. [4847/25]

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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I commend the staff in the Passport Office. They are often extremely busy and do an important job. Sometimes they have to produce passports under difficult circumstances and at very short notice. We have all here probably added to their burden at times, dealing with urgent cases. It is early in the year yet but I am sure the office will get busy. Will the Tánaiste ensure there is sufficient staff in the Passport Office to deal with demand during the busy summer period?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I will. That is the short answer. I join the Deputy in thanking my officials and staff in the passport service for the excellent work they have carried out. Often, I point to the passport service as an example of good practice when it comes to public service reform as regards the work that has been done with the use of technology and online service. The passport service issued over 1 million passport books and cards in 2024.

That was a milestone. Forecasts for this year indicate continued strong demand, with around 940,000 applications expected.

The passport service is successfully meeting the high demand, with turnaround times currently ahead of target for virtually all application types. The majority of online adult renewal applications issue within two working days - people are often surprised at how quickly a passport can arrive - and more than 100,000 passports have already been issued this year.

The passport service's programme of reform will continue through this year and next year, with the delivery of a number of highly complex and transformational projects that are necessary to future-proof service delivery, enhance the customer experience, ensure business continuity, and, crucially, safeguard the integrity of the Irish passport. Successful delivery of these projects will ensure that Ireland remains at the forefront of passport processing worldwide.

The passport online service already offers Irish citizens the ability to apply online for their passports 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is user friendly. It is an efficient service that is now available to 99.9% of all applicants across the world.

In terms of personnel, the passport service is well staffed, with 855 officers currently assigned. An additional 20 officers will be assigned in the coming weeks, meaning that the passport service believes it is in an excellent position to deliver the demand forecast for the rest of this year. Ensuring that we have enough staff to respond to demand is a priority for my Department and is kept under constant review.

We are running a multimedia campaign reminding citizens to apply for their passports on time and, if at all possible, online. The campaign focuses on the benefits of applying online, as 93% of applicants did last year, and encourages citizens to check their passports in advance of booking foreign travel in 2025.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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I echo that. The sooner people check, the less likely there are to be difficulties. In most instances, the passport service works quite well. It can be very efficient at times, with a significant improvement in recent years, especially for renewals. People are often impressed at the speed at which the passport arrives. This is a huge credit to the staff and the development that has gone in there in recent times.

The issue is that, when problems arise, they can be devastating. Sometimes they can arise in the context of holidays. More severely, it can result in people missing weddings or, most particularly of all, there are issues in circumstances of severe illness, funerals or other things that, unfortunately, happen in the course of life. We need to ensure we have a system that is as close to perfect as possible. There may be a bit of an issue at times in terms of the feedback loop when communicating with Garda stations, but I will return to this point. I would like an update on how the Passport Office responds in these circumstances.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I agree with Deputy Ó Laoghaire that great credit is due to the staff. The Deputy will come back in a moment to the issue of the feedback loop, which is an important piece that we should continue to work on. Sometimes, I hear stories about it.

Deputy Ó Laoghaire's question is how to get a passport urgently. We should all check our passports, keep them in date and check them before we book foreign travel, but things can happen and people could need to travel unexpectedly for reasons of tragedy and the likes. Customers who need to have their passports renewed urgently can book an appointment at the public counter at the offices in Mount Street or Cork. The passport service offers a one-day or four-day renewal service in Dublin and a four-day renewal service in Cork. There are 220 one-day renewal appointments and 265 four-day renewal appointments available in Dublin every week and, Deputy Ó Laoghaire will be glad to know, 240 four-day renewal appointments in Cork every week. In the case of genuine emergencies, such as a sudden bereavement or serious illness of a family member abroad, citizens can contact the Passport Office directly through the customer service hub and the passport service will give absolute priority to those applications.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Tánaiste. Most of the instances we deal with - I am sure it is the same throughout the House - relate to people who submit an application but receive notification from the Passport Office that something is not right or, very often, that the person who provided a signature on a consent form is not contactable. Typically, that is a garda. This can be an issue. We have Garda stations that are open 24-7 but we also have many Garda stations that are only open for certain office hours and the landline is answered for only a couple of hours a week. This can cause an issue when somebody gets a form signed at one of these locations, with something that was not urgent at the start then becoming urgent. It is a bit like snakes and ladders, with people ending up right back at square one. The Department of Justice has a job to do with Garda opening hours in that regard, and there is also a legislative case for allowing civilian Garda staff to be part of this process, freeing up gardaí. In the meantime, though, there should be some mechanism for the Passport Office to ensure people are not starting right at the start again in order to fix the issue that arises because a witness, that is, the garda, is not contactable.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire. It is a fair point. I know from memory and from previous postings that quite a bit of work has been done to try to improve the feedback loop, as Deputy Ó Laoghaire correctly referred to it, but based on this discussion, I will undertake to speak to the Minister for Justice on this to see whether more can be done or needs to be done. I know Deputy Ó Laoghaire agrees on the point about the integrity of the process and the importance of valid photographs, valid verification processes, signatures and so on to protect the integrity of the Irish passport. That is important, but we must also make sure that bureaucracy is kept to an absolute minimum. In fairness to the passport service, it has been a real leader in the public service in terms of being willing to transform and move services online, and we are seeing the benefits of this for all our constituents now. I will take away the point Deputy Ó Laoghaire has made and I will come back to him in writing on it.