Seanad debates

Tuesday, 12 June 2018

2:30 pm

Photo of Jerry ButtimerJerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, to the House. The issue I raise is one that has become a source of contention given the fear and worry of some people about the deadline for passport applications. I will preface my remarks by complimenting the excellent staff of our Passport Offices in Dublin but in particular in Cork. I had the pleasure of using the service in Cork. I commend the passport card. It is an example on which we can really work.

This is the critical season for travel. We have only two Passport Offices, one in Dublin and one in Cork. Since 2017 we have seen an increased and a complex workload in the Cork office with entitlement checks required in passport applications from the North, the UK and foreign missions. The Cork Passport Office processes one third of all passports. Since 2017, 800,000 passports have been issued but all have been printed in one central location in Balbriggan. The figures from March show that there has been a backlog, in some cases of 70,000 applications. I accept we have seen the provision of 200 extra temporary staff in the Passport Office during this critical period. However, in tandem with the need for a printing machine in Cork, we should see an increase in the number of permanent staff in the Passport Office.

It is important to recognise that more and more people are travelling. The recession has ended and people are applying for passports. There are more first-time applicants, more young families travelling with children. Therefore, there is a need for a passport printing machine in Cork in order that we can ensure expeditious processing and printing of passports and that we can reduce the turnaround time for applicants. There should be a passport printing machine in Cork because, as the Minister of State knows, it is not just about Cork but it is about the province of Munster and the hinterland. This will make it easier for everybody, including the staff and for those travelling abroad.

I hope the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney, who cannot be here, will be able to look in a positive manner at the need for the people of Cork and Munster to have such a facility. I know we do more and more online but we have one location for printing. We must make it easier for people requiring emergency passports or people who must travel to Dublin to get their passports by having such a facility in Cork. It might also ease the gridlock and the congestion in Dublin.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, for being here and look forward to his reply. I will conclude by complimenting the staff in the passport office in Cork.I hope those who have gone in to the office have found it as easy as I have. I am certainly not proficient in technology but being able to go in, make one's appointments, wait for between ten and 15 minutes, come back, have one's business done and receive one's passport card or the passport itself in an expeditious manner is something we all want. This could be done better by having a printing machine in Cork.

Photo of John HalliganJohn Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I apologise for the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, who is unable to be here today. I thank Senator Jerry Buttimer, who does a wonderful job representing his local area of Cork, for this important question.

This is a peak season for the passport service. The total number of applications received during the first four months of this year rose by 10% compared to the same period last year and by 25% compared to two years ago. There are several drivers of demand, including a trend towards early renewal of passports, the growth in outbound travel and the growing population, to which the Senator alluded. The passport service, located in the Department, is one unified service composed of three constituent offices on Mount Street in Dublin, Balbriggan in County Dublin and South Mall in Cork, respectively. The public offices in Mount Street and Cork accept applications from all categories of applicants by appointment at their public counters. Where appropriate, these offices also facilitate the issuance of emergency passports where there is a need to travel for medical reasons or due to bereavement abroad. Applications from across Ireland, Great Britain and through Ireland's network of embassies and consulates worldwide are distributed for processing across the three passport offices. Resources are allocated on the basis of an assessment of demand, in line with the passport service's targeted processing dates. Both Passport Express and online applications are sent back to the applicant based in Ireland with a next-day delivery service. Therefore, wherever applications for passports are processed, Irish residents will receive their passports within the same timeframe.

The passport service operates these three passport printing machines. Two are located in our main production facility in Balbriggan and one is located in the passport office on Mount Street. All applications are processed through the centralised, automated passport service, APS. This means that all production facilities can print the passport, irrespective of which channel the application was processed through. The printing system allows for flexibility between printing machines if any machine reaches capacity. Where pressures arise in the processing system, they are generally associated with the necessary checking and verification process which must be followed to ensure the integrity of the Irish passport and which cannot be compromised. Given the scale of the passport service's investment in specialised and efficient machinery, we have sufficient resources to meet the technological requirements of passport production.

Passport printing and the personalisation of each passport requires highly specialised machinery, auxiliary equipment and a temperature controlled environment. The purchase cost of a new passport printing machine alone is in excess of €1.7 million. This does not include the cost of security, technical costs, outfitting, staffing and rental. Prior to installing any additional printing facility, we would have to consider the physical suitability of any building and the suitability of the location to cater for the installation of such a specialised machine, physical security considerations and the availability of maintenance services. Any such production facility would incur costs above and beyond the purchase of the machine itself and would include security, support and maintenance charges. Given that the current three printing machines meet the passport service's printing demands and have additional capacity, and given the costs and requirements associated with the purchase and support of a new machine, I do not believe that, right now, there is justification on a value for money or operational basis to purchase an additional printing machine.

Photo of Jerry ButtimerJerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, for being here and taking the Commencement matter. The reply should recognise that the Passport Office and its staff are exceptional. The service is dealing with unprecedented demand, as the Minister of State outlined.Three of the printing machines are located in Dublin where life does not end or begin. Beyond the M50 there is a great need in Cork. As an example, if we are talking about ambitions in terms of reform and innovation, why can a printing machine not be located in Cork and thereby facilitate the people of Cork and the Munster region?

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. Notwithstanding what he read, there is a justifiable case to be made for having a printing machine in Cork. I accept that we are moving into a different era in terms of technology and how people apply for a passport and that perhaps there might come a time when having a passport will be irrelevant, that people will have a chip somewhere. Nonetheless, it is something we should keep on the table. There is an excellent Passport Office in Cork which would be augmented and supported if it had a printing machine.

Photo of John HalliganJohn Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I again thank the Senator and concur with what he said. I take the opportunity to acknowledge the dedication and professionalism with which Passport Office staff in Cork and Dublin meet the challenges posed during periods of peak demand such, as well as the service they provide for the public all year round. This year the Passport Office received sanction for the appointment of 220 temporary clerical officers to the offices in Dublin and Cork in accordance with the volume of applications to each of the offices. Forty of the temporary clerical officers were assigned to the Passport Office in Cork. In addition, ten clerical officers and one executive officer have joined the office's permanent staff since the beginning of the year. Therefore, there is an acknowledgement by the Department that the office in Cork is a fundamental part of the passport issuing system. In terms of recognition, it is the only place outside Dublin that has an office. Many people from my constituency and surrounding counties use the Cork office more than the Dublin office.

Having spoken to the Department to prepare my information and to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade today, I have learned that there is an initial cost of €1.7 million. If one adds the cost of security, technical issues and work on the building, they could drive the cost up to €2 million, which would be huge, given that the Passport Office states it can deal adequately with the pressures it is under, although that could change owing to Brexit. I suggest to the Senator that there has been an acknowledgement of the Cork office, given the extra staff assigned to it, and that within a year or two, although I am not saying it will happen, the applications process might very well change.