Written answers

Tuesday, 11 March 2008

Department of Foreign Affairs

Passport Applications

8:00 pm

Photo of Pádraic McCormackPádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 131: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on extending the opening hours of the Passport Office to include some evenings and Saturdays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10323/08]

Photo of Dermot AhernDermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Passport Office provides a comprehensive range of options for citizens to apply for passports. Applications may be made by express post through some 1,000 post offices across the State and a further 70 in the North. A guaranteed 10 working day service is available for such applications which are complete and in order. Less urgent applications can also be made by ordinary post. Applicants can also apply in person at the public offices in Molesworth Street, Dublin and at South Mall in Cork between 9.30am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday. When proof of travel is provided, applications can be processed within ten working days. In urgent cases and on payment of an additional fee, an applicant can acquire a passport on the day of application or the following day.

A facility is also available outside of normal working hours, for persons who have mislaid their passports, whose passports have been lost or stolen or who find at the last minute that they are out of date. A Passport Duty Officer Service is provided on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays year round (except on Christmas Day and New Years Day). It operates from 9am to 6pm on Saturdays and from 9am to 2pm on Sundays and public holidays. During the peak travel season, April to August inclusive, the service is extended and operates from 6pm to 10pm on Fridays, 9am to 5pm on Saturdays and from 9am to 2pm on Sundays and public holidays. Outside of these hours, a Diplomatic Duty Officer is available to deal with the most urgent cases and genuine emergencies such as the death or funeral of a relative or a relative dying abroad.

I believe that the arrangements as described above constitute a comprehensive and flexible service designed to meet the needs of citizens. Accordingly, while the opening hours of the Passport Offices will be kept under review, I do not consider that it is necessary at present to extend these to include evenings and Saturdays.

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