Written answers

Tuesday, 24 May 2016

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Passport Applications

Photo of Peter FitzpatrickPeter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael)
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351. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the waiting times for issuing renewals and new applications for passports; how he is ensuring they are kept within the published guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11482/16]

Photo of Charles FlanaganCharles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As of 20 May, the turnaround time for passport renewals through Passport Express is 13/14 working days (applicants are advised that the projected turnaround time is 15 working days). The turnaround time for first time applications is longer at 25 working days due to the additional anti-fraud measures required and the need to establish citizenship.

Applications made for Irish passports from outside the jurisdiction can take up to six weeks.

Throughout this year the demand for passports has been exceptionally high. From 1 January to 20 May the Passport Service has received a total of 335,473 applications for passport books and 10,490 for passport cards. This represents a significant increase of almost 15% in applications for passport books compared to the same period last year.

To address the anticipated increase over the summer season, the Passport Service has recruited Temporary Clerical Officers who will work a total of 5,122 weeks this year. Additional Temporary Clerical Officers will be recruited shortly for a total of 780 weeks to manage the significant increase in phone calls and customer queries over the remaining peak period to August. In view of the sustained increase in applications over last year processing work has been redistributed across passport offices in recent months and staff re-deployed from other areas of the Department as needed to respond to the increased workload.

The Passport Office provides a free reminder service to passport holders when their passport is approaching its expiry date – I would encourage passport holders to register on the Passport Office website to avail of this reminder service.

I strongly recommend that citizens check that the expiry date on their passports, prior to booking overseas travel. While Passport Express passport renewal applications can take up to 15 working days to process, it is best practice for prospective travellers to allow at least six weeks for passport applications to be processed and to take special care to ensure that application forms are correctly completed (for example failure to submit the necessary documentation required by an application can often cause a delay in processing turnaround time). Submission of applications in good time is particularly important during the peak season which runs from April until August.

The Passport Service will continue to closely monitor the situation to ensure the effective deployment of staff resources.

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