Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 62: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding a passport application in respect of a person (details supplied). [12295/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Due to peak seasonal demand on all passport services at present, passport applicants may experience some delays in the delivery of their selected passport service. This is very much regretted.

In the case of the person in question, an application for a passport was made to the Irish Embassy in London and subsequently registered by the Passport Office in Balbriggan which processes these applications. I can confirm that a passport for the person in question was issued on 17 May 2011 by the Passport Office in Balbriggan. This was sent to the Embassy that day from where it will be posted to the applicant in time for her journey.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 63: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the reason for the delays in the Passport Office. [12296/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Due to a surge in demand, the turnaround time for passport express applications received through the Passport Express system is currently running between 11 and 13 working days. It normally takes 10 working days. The Passport Express service is available for passport applications lodged in Ireland only. The Passport Service regrets the delay and any difficulties caused in this regard. Notice of the current extended turnaround time and its likely duration has been published on the Passport Service website www.passport.ie. The Passport Office has also informed An Post so that customers can be advised of the situation at the point of application. Applications made by ordinary post do not have a guaranteed turnaround service and normally take approximately 6 weeks. During the peak summer period, application processing times can lengthen for all passport applications. In such circumstances, priority continues to be given to applications made through the Passport Express Service. Passport demand in general is currently running at a level 13% higher than the same period in earlier years. At present the Passport Service is receiving an average of 4,260 applications per day. This is an unprecedented level of demand, with the number of applications received from Irish residents alone in two recent days at over 5,200, exceeding by 700 the highest number previously for any one single day.

The largest increase has been observed in passports for children between the age of 3 and 18 and is running 16% over previous years.

The system is also coping with an unprecedented demand for passports at short notice, with some 350 people per day coming to the public office seeking passports within a period of less than 10 days. To protect the integrity of the system and the quality of the passport, the Passport Service cannot provide standard passports within a single day. The shortest turnaround time available is three working days for applications received over the public counter accompanied by proof of travel, other than in cases of genuine emergency.

The processing of a passport is a complicated and highly skilled process. Irish passports are among the most advanced in the world. Each passport contains biometric technology to assist with identity verification and to provide a high level of security. The Office has also recently strengthened the passport issuing process by providing further safeguards against fraudulent applications.

Additional temporary staff have been recruited and are in training. Within a short period, seasonal overtime and the additional output provided by temporary staff will bring processing times back to normal levels.

We would strongly appeal to the public to assist the Passport Service by checking the validity of their passports before making bookings to travel abroad. A valid passport should be the first item on any checklist when considering foreign travel.