Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 340: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has satisfied himself that current arrangements are effective for the issuing of passports; his plans to further develop the system; and his views on whether Tallaght would be an ideal location for a new passport office. [26588/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am happy that the current arrangements, and the proposals for further development which are outlined below, provide for an effective passport issuing service.

By the end of September 2005, almost 500,000 passports had been issued by the Passport Office this year. This is over 10% higher than in the same period last year. At the end of the year, I expect that a record 550,000 passports will have been issued. Over 90% of these are issued within ten working days. The majority come through the "passport express" service which is operated jointly by my Department and An Post and which is available in over 1,000 past offices nationwide.

In response to increasing demand for passports in recent years, as well as requirements for higher security standards and a commitment to offer our citizens the most effective possible service, the passport issuing system has been going through a process of modernisation and upgrading. A new automated passport system has been introduced in the past year in the main Passport Office in Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, and in a new passport production facility in Balbriggan, County Dublin. The system is being extended this month to the Cork and London passport offices and I expect that the roll out to all missions will be completed by the end of the year. Our new passport booklet is one of the most secure in the world and has been widely admired.

In addition to the above, my Department is working on developing on-line facilities to enable applicants to track the progress of their application over the Internet. It is hoped that this facility will be available towards the end of the year. Work is also under way to develop an on-line passport application facility allowing applicants to submit personal details, other than photograph and signature, over the Internet. This is expected to be available next year.

Ireland, along with other member states of the European Union, is preparing to incorporate biometric identifiers in passports before the end of 2006 to further improve passport security. This will involve storing, in a microchip to be embedded in the passport, a digital image of the passport holder's face taken from the photograph submitted along with the passport application form.

It is my policy to keep the operations of the Passport Office under regular and active review so that the best possible service can be maintained for the public. However, in view of the ongoing developments set out above, there would be no justification in extending the number of passport offices within the State.