Aisling Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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9. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of passport books and cards issued to Meath applicants in 2024; the estimated number expected to issue in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4384/25]

Aisling Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I wish the Tánaiste well in his role as Minister for Foreign Affairs at this turbulent time. What was the number of passport books and cards issued to applicants from County Meath in 2024? What is the estimate for the number that is expected to be issued in 2025 and will he make a statement on the matter?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Dempsey for the question, congratulate her on her election to the Dáil and look forward to working constructively with her.

The passport service issued more than 1 million passport books and cards in 2024. There were 16,792 adult passports and 12,474 child passports issued to residents of County Meath in 2024, bringing the total number of passports issued to Meath residents to 29,266. The passport service forecasts that more than 940,000 passport applications will be submitted in 2025. Based on these figures, the Passport Office estimates there will be approximately 26,000 applications from residents of County Meath in 2025.

The passport service continues to be in an excellent position to meet the demand forecast for 2025, with 855 staff officers currently assigned to it. Customers who need to have their passports renewed urgently can book an appointment at the public counter in Mount Street or in 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 currently 220 one-day renewal appointments available in Dublin every week, which may be of use to the Deputy's constituents. There are 265 four-day renewal appointments available in Dublin and 240 four-day renewal appointments available in Cork every week.

In the case of genuine emergencies, such as a bereavement or serious illness of a family member abroad, citizens can contact the Passport Office directly. The passport service gives priority to these applications. I ask the Deputy to encourage her constituents who are travelling this year, particularly those with young children who require their first passport, to apply online and in plenty of time.

Aisling Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. As a councillor and now as a TD, like many others, a good percentage of queries I receive from constituents relate to issues with passports. It can be an emotive issue in a stressful time for them. We see a lot of criticism of public services, such as the Passport Office, but it has excelled in recent years and it is a different situation from the one we found ourselves in four years ago. The issuing of 1 million passports in 2024 is a huge milestone to mark. Does the Tánaiste have the current processing times, compared with 2022, for simple online renewals, for complex or child online renewals and for first-time applications online and through the An Post passport express service?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I join Deputy Dempsey in thanking the passport service for the huge amount of work it has done and the reforms it has undergone. Let us consider that it has come through the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit turbulence with the impact that had on passport application numbers and the general significant demand for passports. I often meet constituents who are pleasantly surprised about how quickly the passport arrives. It seems like only yesterday that they took the picture to send off online and the passport arrives the next day or day after that. That is the experience of many people. We can never be complacent about this. We must continue to work on it.

I will send the breakdown of those figures to the Deputy but I can tell her we are very much ahead of target for this year for turnaround times of passport applications.

I will share some Meath-specific information because, as the Deputy will be aware, we are bringing the new design to life for a new redesigned passport book. Residents of Meath will be fond of the fact that Newgrange was prevalent in the current book and I can assure the Deputy that Newgrange will continue to feature in the new one.