Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator again for the opportunity to update the Seanad on the foreign birth registration process. The passport service is fully committed to ensuring the timeframe of eight to nine months as we go forward. An average of 900 applications are approved each week, with 29,000 applications currently awaiting processing. The FBR team provides an emergency service for foreign birth registration in cases of exceptional urgency such as for expectant parents or stateless persons. The passport service continues to work closely with the HR division and the Public Appointments Service to recruit additional staff to meet the current and forecast demand for both passports and foreign birth registration.

In the context of the national development plan, the Government is making a major investment in the future of the passport service. Over the next couple of years, the Department will replace the core technology underpinning the service, which will deliver efficiencies to the foreign birth registration and passport services. I assure the Seanad of the importance the Government attaches to the integrity of the FBR process, which processes these applications for Irish citizenship in a timely manner. We will reflect on the Senator's wider point regarding the sensitivity around cases involving children. I thank her for raising the issue.