Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael)
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Question 413: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of new and renewal passport applications waiting to be processed in the Cork and Dublin passport offices; the number of applications from persons in north Tipperary; the average waiting time it takes to receive a passport once the necessary documentation has been submitted; if the length of processing time has increased over the past six months; and, if so, the measures taken by his Department to address the problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30842/10]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 418: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the waiting times for a new passport; the waiting time for a passport renewal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31030/10]

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 419: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the average length of time to process a passport through passport express, and through the normal process; and when he expects this processing time to return to normal. [31573/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 413, 418 and 419 together.

On 6 July, there were 57,516 applications in the system. Of these 12,400 represent applications received by the Passport Office in Cork. It is not possible to produce statistics for North Tipperary alone. Whereas this backlog is excessively high it nonetheless represents a reduction of almost 10,500 applications in the backlog since the middle of June. One additional contributory factor to the time taken to reduce the backlog in passport applications is the exceptional demand for passports this year. To date passport demand is running at 13.8% higher than this time in 2009.

In recent weeks the Passport Service has re-introduced a guaranteed turnaround time for passport applications. Applications submitted via the Passport Express service (Swiftpost in the Republic and NIPX in the North), available through local post offices, are now guaranteed to be processed within 20 working days. This 20 working day guarantee will be kept under review and it is intended that this will reduce over the coming weeks. The new guarantee turnaround time will help re-establish trust in the operation of the Passport Service.

Applications received through the ordinary post channels are currently being processed with eight weeks of receipt. There is no difference in waiting times for a passport renewal or first time application.

A new service to prioritise applications for those with immediate travel plans has also been introduced. Applications with proof of travel are now guaranteed to be processed within three working days. Applicants should make contact with the Passport Service & provide this proof where applicable. An additional fee may apply in respect of such new applications. This is the fastest turnaround time for all applications except for those whose travel is required for urgent humanitarian reasons.

Passport Service staff continue to work overtime to assist in keeping the number of applications in the system to a minimum. In the last few weeks, additional temporary staff have commenced work in the Passport Service and will be working to clear this backlog. While this will take some time, every effort is being made to minimise the inconvenience to the travelling public and to restore normal processing times at the earliest opportunity.