Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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647. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to accommodate the increase in passport applications; the waiting times for applications and renewals to the normal waiting period; if he will consider increasing staffing levels at the Balbriggan passport office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20257/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, there has been a surge in passport applications in recent months. Between 1 January and mid-April, over 290,000 applications were received, representing an increase of 19% over the same period last year. The average processing time for renewal applications submitted through the An Post Passport Express service is 16 working days, one day over the target 15 working day turnaround and this has been notified to An Post.

First-time applications and those for renewal of lost or stolen passports are subject to longer turnaround times due to the extra verification steps involved (current turnaround time is 24 working days). My Department keeps An Post apprised of changes to the advised turnaround times for each category of applicant and these are updated weekly on the Passport Service website. In all cases, applicants are strongly encouraged to allow at least six weeks for the processing of a passport and to submit their application through Passport Express only if they have no immediate travel plans i.e. if they are travelling in three weeks or more.

This exceptional level of demand is likely be sustained into the summer months and we have worked hard to put a number of measures in place, including additional staffing resources and the use of overtime in order to minimise the impact on turnaround times. Over 50% of the 230 Temporary Clerical Officers recruited to respond to the seasonal demand have been assigned to the Passport Office in Balbriggan, the reminder are divided between the Passport Office in Cork and in Mount Street, Dublin. The Passport Service has also been assigned a number of permanent Clerical Officers over the past number of months and we will continue to keep staffing levels under careful review to ensure that the impact of any further increase in demand on turnaround times and on service is minimised.

The Deputy will be aware that a new online passport application service was launched on 30 March. I am confident this new service will result in considerable efficiencies and will alleviate pressure on passport processing. This service offers a target turnaround of ten working days (two weeks), plus postage. It is convenient and secure and I would urge the Deputy to encourage eligible applicants to use this channel via the Department’s website at .