Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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51. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the waiting times for passport express applications. [3858/19]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Passport Service offers a range of convenient channels for the submission of passport applications by Irish citizens at home or abroad. These include a postal application system, an online passport application service, and a counter service for applicants who have immediate travel plans.

The current waiting times for postal applications through the postal application system, Passport Express, will depend on the category of application.

Renewal applications are currently being processed in 13 working days. First time applications, or those applicants who are applying to replace a lost or stolen passport are being processed in 15 working days.

I would like to remind Deputies that the Passport Service recently expanded its online renewal service to include renewal of children's passports, as well as of adults. The online service brings significant benefits for citizens with faster turnaround times of 10 working days for all online applications, excluding postage.  In addition, the cost of renewing a passport online is cheaper than alternative methods, with fees for all online applications being reduced by €5 across all application types.

As the online service is the most convenient and most efficient method of renewing a passport, I would urge all applicants who are eligible to do so, to consider using this application channel.