Written answers
Tuesday, 5 July 2016
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Passport Applications Data
Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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355. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the average turnaround time of passports in each of the years 2010 to 2016 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19666/16]
Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Reports for the average turnaround periods for passport services are only available from 2013. This data is set out in the following table in working days:
| Passport Service | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 (to date) | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passport Express | 6 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 10 |
| Northern Ireland Passport Express | 5 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 12 |
| Great Britain | 14 | 23 | 21 | 26 | 21 |
| Total number of applications | 478,758 | 491,360 | 526,061 | 383,403 |
The target turnaround period for postal applications in Great Britain is six weeks. The performance in regard to this service since 2013 has been within the target.
The increase in passport applications of 11% year-to-date over the same period last year has resulted in pressures on the turnaround times.
To respond to the seasonal spike in demand and more general increase in applications a total of 233 Temporary Clerical Officers have been recruited so far this year. This is an increase of 62 officers on last year. Furthermore, processing work has been redistributed across passport offices and staff re-deployed from other areas of the Department as needed.
The Passport Service will continue to closely monitor the situation with respect to demand to ensure the effective deployment of staff resources and to minimize the impact of the high volume of applications on turnaround times and customer service.
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