Written answers

Tuesday, 5 July 2011

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Passport Applications

9:00 pm

Photo of Derek KeatingDerek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Question 106: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of new passports that are applied for per month; the number of renewal passports; the current waiting time from the date of application to the date of receipt by the applicant in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18778/11]

Photo of Eamon GilmoreEamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The number of applications received by the Passport Service in the first six months of 2011, (with comparisons to 2009 and 2010) are set out in the table below. The Passport Service does not maintain statistical data differentiating between first time and renewal applications. Accordingly, it is not possible to produce the data sought by the deputy in this regard.

Month200920102011
January47,54645,09852,221
February49,64857,21559,424
March59,18185,47068,407
April65,20784,57570,735
May75,83772,89089,235
June81,60278,29383,556
Total379,021423,541423,578

In assessing the demand profile since 2009, it should be noted that industrial action in 2010 distorted to some degree the demand profile in the early part of that year. Therefore, it is reasonable to compare the first half annual demands in 2011 with 2009 to establish in real terms the growth of passport services. The details in the table above show a 12% increase over 2009. This has resulted in a temporary backlog of approximately 5 days in the processing of Passport Express applications and about 2 to 3 weeks delay in applications made by general mail. 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 since 18 April 2011. It is regularly updated. The Passport Service has also informed An Post so that customers can be advised of the situation at the point of application

The exceptional peak season demand on all passport services is being tackled by the recruitment of 85 additional temporary staff and the use of overtime. The ongoing efforts in this regard will see the Passport Service bring processing times back to normal levels in the coming weeks.

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