Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to be in the Chamber to take this matter. I acknowledge my colleague, Councillor Rory Cocking, who has been working closely on this issue with me.

The issue I raise is particularly important at present as we traditionally see a big increase in the number of passport applications made at this time of year, as people head off on their summer holidays. From first-time applications to renewals because of lost or out-of-date passports, I am sure all my colleagues have been contacted at some point regarding a passport application.

We currently have two publicly accessible Passport Offices, one on the South Mall in Cork and one in Mount Street in Dublin, in addition to a passport printing facility in Balbriggan in Dublin. Of these three buildings, only two actually print passports and both are located in Dublin.

Last year, more than 1 million passports were issued and we see forecasts of similar numbers to be issued this year. It is vital that the Department carry out a review of the necessity to establish a passport printing service outside the capital.

In some cases, we are literally talking about a matter of hours as to whether a passport is printed and dispatched or collected, allowing an applicant to travel or not. People may be required to travel to Dublin at short notice to collect a passport and then return to Cork or Farranfore to catch a flight. The current concentration of printing in Dublin is a disadvantage to those coming from other parts of the country. We need to see an expansion of the service.

I welcome the Tánaiste’s recent confirmation that there are 117 staff employed in the Cork Passport Office and that the department is to be moved to a new building next year to allow for increased staffing. This is great news and I really welcome it. It provides us with the perfect opportunity to start printing passports in Cork.

We also see the expansion of Cork Airport, which I note was awarded best European regional airport last week, and the fantastic works going on there, with an estimated 3.4 million travellers expected to use the airport this year, increasing to 5 million within five or six years.

I also mention the possibility of a quicker urgent passport appointment service. This service ensures the quicker turnaround of renewal applications for a slightly higher fee. Currently, urgent renewal services in Cork Passport Office take four days whereas in Dublin Passport Office, the service is a same-day turnaround. We see again here a gross disparity between the Cork and Dublin services. Many from Cork and the surrounds tend to use the Dublin service, as time can always be of the essence. The strong demand for the service means that appointments are at a premium, particularly during the summer and school holidays. As a result, I believe a reduction in the turnaround period in Cork would see in an increase in service users locally, which would, in turn, decrease the pressure on the Dublin services and free up appointments.