Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Question 25: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is satisfied with the service that is provided by the Passport Office; if he will give consideration to a feasibility study to have the passport service privatised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19974/11]

Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Question 37: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there is any alternative to the practice whereby passport applicants have to queue in the rain or cold for hours to complete their application for a passport; if he will examine this problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19975/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 25 and 37 together.

I am satisfied with the service that is provided by the Passport Service although I do very much regret the delays currently being experienced by customers. The Service is currently coping with a level of demand 12% higher than that experienced in recent years. I do not believe that privatising the Passport Service would resolve that underlying issue. It has been pointed out that the Irish Passport is one of the most modern and cheapest in Europe and notwithstanding the current demand led difficulties, the Passport Service provides excellent service, including a 24/7 duty officer service at home and abroad for genuine emergencies. For reasons of national security, data protection and security of delivery, most countries maintain Government control of their passport production facilities. A rise in attempted passport fraud has increased the need for security measures.

The Passport Service recommends that applications based in Ireland apply through the express passport services operated by An Post in the Republic and The Post Office in Northern Ireland. Anybody who applies in this way and whose application is in order should currently receive their passport in 15 working days. I expect this waiting time to improve in the coming weeks before returning to the normal ten working day guaranteed turnaround. More than 70% of all passport applications lodged within the State are made through this service. Applications can be submitted at over 1,000 post offices nationwide. There should be no need for any citizen, other than those who have a requirement to obtain a passport at short notice, to attend one of the Passport Service public counters in person.

Unfortunately, an average of 400 people per day are currently calling to the passport offices in Dublin and Cork. In most cases, these are people whose passport has elapsed, is about to elapse, or has been lost or stolen and who wish to travel on a date earlier than would be possible were they to use the passport express service. The staff of the Passport Service do their best to facilitate theses customers, particularly those who need to travel for a genuine emergency. Regrettably, this can only be done by diverting resources that would otherwise be used to serve customers who have submitted postal applications.

I would again 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 check list when considering foreign travel.