Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and thank him for his comprehensive report and analysis of the issues within the Passport Office. I acknowledge and compliment all the staff in the passport services for the processing of applications that takes place and the officials in the Minister's office who are of assistance.It is quite clear that online is best. The Minister stated that 90% of applications are made online. I have said previously that Passport Express is a misnomer because it is not express. Online is express so that should be changed and, indeed, phased out. The best way of forcing change is to tell people they have to do it online. There are people who are not tech-savvy and there are older people. It is not beyond the bounds of State resources with all the State offices around the country to come up with some system whereby the elderly or those who are not tech-savvy can make appointment, get their photos taken and upload the information. It is done through the NLDS for driving licences. That model should be examined. If we did away with paper applications, we would not have problems and it would improve the efficiency of the service.

Regarding the reminder system, the Minister mentioned that more than 570,000 adults and children whose passports have expired since January 2019 have still not renewed them. He knows they have expired. The question is whether the people themselves know they have expired. Some of them may know they have expired while others may not and will not know until they pick it up two weeks before going to get their flight so there needs to be some sort of system whereby they can be notified. The only downside I can see is that we would be inadvertently writing to someone who is deceased. I can see Joe Duffy's phone lines lighting up with Mary ringing to say they wrote to Patrick who died last year. I can see that happening but there needs to be a system akin to that for motor tax or motor insurance where people get a notification by text or email and respond to that.

People can book a flight and not be asked for their passport. They do not show a passport until they go through security. My poor brother had a passport but picked up the expired one and it was only when he was boarding the flight that he discovered that it had expired so he had to go home again. He got going a few days later. Is there any way of asking airlines to notify people about the expiry date at an early date when people are booking? If someone is asked for the expiry date for his or her passport in the same way as for his or her bank card, he or she must look for it and can see if it is out of date. I acknowledge the investment and work that has been done to improve the system but more changes could be made to streamline it even further.