Written answers

Tuesday, 9 July 2019

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Passport Applications Administration

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

141. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of the roll-out of online renewal for children’s passports since the project commenced in November 2018; the number of online child applications by county since then; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29631/19]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The award-winning Online Passport Renewal Service was launched in March 2017 and offers the convenience of an online application system 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for Irish citizens anywhere in the world.

In November 2018, the Online Passport Renewal Service was expanded to include the online renewal of children’s passports, to introduce a passport card for children, and to expand the cohort of adults eligible to renew online.

Since the expansion of the service last year, 71,384 online passport applications for children have been submitted. The table below details the county of residence of the applicants for those same applications submitted who were resident on the island of Ireland at the time of application.

CountyApplications
DUBLIN17,602
CORK5,852
KILDARE3,444
MEATH3,142
GALWAY3,025
LIMERICK2,117
WICKLOW2,096
LOUTH1,775
WEXFORD1,663
DONEGAL1,650
TIPPERARY1,612
CLARE1,427
ANTRIM1,362
WATERFORD1,337
MAYO1,322
KERRY1,225
DOWN1,121
KILKENNY1,090
WESTMEATH960
DERRY846
LAOIS816
CAVAN778
ROSCOMMON714
OFFALY664
SLIGO657
CARLOW600
MONAGHAN593
TYRONE545
ARMAGH412
LEITRIM377
LONGFORD335
FERMANAGH147
BELFAST11
TOTAL61,317
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 significantly cheaper than alternative methods, with fees for all online applications being reduced by €5 across all application types.

Public feedback with regard to the ease of use and accessibility of the website and with regard to the 10 day turnaround time has been hugely positive. Last month, the online child passport renewal website won a UX (User Experience design) Award for “Innovation in UX”. The awards celebrate achievement in the Irish user experience sector.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.