Noel Rock (Dublin North West, Fine Gael)
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357. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the production cost of each passport; if volume reduces the marginal cost in a given year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11882/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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In 2016 the direct current expenditure incurred by the three Passport Service offices in the State amounted to approximately €32 million.

This figure does not include rental and other accommodation costs of these Passport Offices. Nor does it capture the accommodation, operational, staffing and other current costs incurred by our Embassies and Consulates around the world, including the Embassy in London, in providing passport services to our citizens. In addition, centrally incurred headquarters-wide costs are not reallocated to the Passport Service and are therefore not included.

The cost of the Passport Reform Programme (2016-2018) – which has a combined capital and current investment budget of over €18 million – is additional. The reform programme will modernise systems, business processes and controls and will deliver a more efficient, secure, predictable and citizen-focused service in the years ahead.

The Department’s accounting system does not capture the non-direct passport costs, both in Ireland and overseas, in sufficient detail to allow an accurate assignment of these costs to the production of each passport. As the production volume increases this would result in a marginal reduction in the cost of the production of a passport as the fixed costs involved are spread over a greater number of passports.