Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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162. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress to date in processing a passport application for a person (details supplied); when the application will be brought to a conclusion and the passport issued; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38348/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has already issued this passport.

The Passport Service scaled up operational levels on 4 May 2021, in line with the phased easing of restrictions set out in “COVID-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021 – The Plan Ahead”.

Passport Online will continue to be the priority channel given the efficiencies that are in-built into the system for both the applicant and the Passport Service. The processing of an online application is up to four times as fast as a paper application. In addition, the use of Passport Online can facilitate social distancing, given that a renewal application for an adult does not require the signature of a witness.

Passport Online can be accessed by first time applicants, both children and adults, in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Europe, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA. All Irish citizens, including children, can use the online system to renew their passports from anywhere in the world.

The Passport Service has a great deal of experience in dealing with peaks in demand, and we are confident, taking into account measures to ensure a safe workplace, that the Passport Online applications on hand can be cleared in six to eight weeks.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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163. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason for the delay in obtaining passports for children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38378/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Passport Service commenced the scaling up of operations on 4 May 2021 in line with the phased easing of restrictions set out in “COVID-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021 – The Plan Ahead”.

The Service has been focused since then on four priority areas.

- Clearing the COVID-19 backlog of 89,000 passport applications.

- Processing all adult renewal applications (including new applications) within 10 working days.

- Processing urgent and emergency applications.

- Providing customer services through our telephone and web chat team.

Very substantial progress has been made in clearing the COVID-19 backlog: all backlog applications which were completed properly have been processed and related passports issued. As regards incomplete COVID-19 backlog applications, the Passport Service has been in contact with the applicants regarding the need to send in outstanding documents. Once all outstanding required documentation is received, issuance of passports will be expedited.

The Deputy will appreciate that processing of applications for Irish citizen children is particularly complex, given that the consent of all guardians must be obtained and fully verified before any application can be approved and a passport issued. Over the last two months as the Passport Service has scaled up its operations, renewal of a child’s passport has taken on average 16 days, in cases where the application was completed properly. The Passport Service’s goal is to continue to scale up operations post Covid-19 and to return to normal levels of service as soon as possible.

I wish to highlight that our telephone and web chat services are available to all citizens whose passport applications have unfortunately been affected by COVID-19 restrictions. Customers are encouraged to contact our Customer Service Hub if they require assistance urgently.