Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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175. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to put additional staff in place in the Passport Office to deal with the large number of applications which are currently being experienced; when additional staff will commence in order to deal with the unprecedented waiting times and the fact that applications are not being dealt with according to the advised timelines. [14542/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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There is currently a very high volume of passport applications in the system - over 60,000. Between 1 January and 16 March a total of 191,428 applications were received compared to a total of 155,163 for the same period last year. This represents an increase of over 23% in volume.

The Passport Service is working extremely hard to manage the ongoing surge in passport applications. A total of 230 Temporary Clerical Officers have been assigned to the Passport Service to assist with the processing of passport applications and to respond to customer queries including via phone calls, emails and social media. This is an increase of 59 officers over the number recruited in 2015. The majority of the TCOs are already in place and the remaining officers will join in the coming weeks.

In addition to the recruitment of Temporary Clerical Officers, my Department has requested the Public Appointments Service to assign additional Clerical and Executive Officers to fill recent vacancies in the Passport Service.

The turnaround times for the each category of passport applicant are updated weekly on the Passport Service website. The average processing time for renewal applications submitted through Passport Express is currently 16 working days (our aim is a 15 day turnaround). First time applicants or those with lost/stolen passports take longer because of additional anti-fraud measures and these applications are being processed in an average of 23 working days (our aim is a 20 working day turnaround).

The Passport Service advises customers to apply at least six weeks prior to travelling and to submit their application through Passport Express if they have no immediate travel plans. There are a limited number of appointments available at the Passport Offices in Dublin and Cork for those travelling in three weeks or less. These appointments can be made online.

The Passport Service offers a free email reminder service to holders with passports due for renewal and I would urge the Deputy to promote use of this facility where possible. See: .

As the Deputy will be aware, we are engaged in a significant programme of passport service reform which will result in greater efficiencies and convenience for applicants. I expect to make further announcements on this matter in the near future.

I will continue to closely monitor the situation to ensure the effective deployment of staff and other resources in order to minimise the impact of the exceptionally high demand on turnaround times for applicants and on customer service.