Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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76. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the current approximate wait time for first-time passport applicants to receive their passport; and when his Department estimates the wait time will return to its pre-pandemic duration. [45328/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 76 and 83 together.

The current Passport processing turnaround times are:

- 10 working days for Simple Adult renewals,

- 15 working days for Complex renewals,

- 40 working days for First Time applications on Passport Online and

- 8 weeks for Passport Express.

Almost 45% of passports for simple adult renewals continue to issue within one business day while more complex applications take longer.

The Passport Service has received approximately 500,000 applications in 2021 to date, with 111,000 under process. These applications comprise of 63,000 valid applications which are with the Passport Service and 43,000 incomplete applications that require action by the applicant.

25% of valid applications are for adult renewals, 16% are complex renewals for children and 59% are for first time applications.

First time applications for adults and children are complex applications involving measures to assure the true identity of the applicant, their entitlement to Irish citizenship and, in the case of children, that all guardians have consented to the issuing of the passport. Particular complexity relates to the processing of application from children born in Ireland after 2004 due to the need to verify entitlement for Irish citizenship.

The Passport Service began scaling up to more normal 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”. Since that date, the Passport Service has issued over 300,000 passports while continuing to operate the emergency service for priority cases for which customers are encouraged to contact our Customer Service Hub if they require assistance. Over 4,000 Foreign Birth Registrations have also been processed in cases of exceptional urgency.

The Passport Service are continually looking for ways to improve efficiency and welcome the Deputy’s proposal in relation to the return of documentation. While Passport Service resources are primarily focused on meeting current demand, we will be reviewing the documentation required to support a passport application and will examine the processes around the verification and processing of supporting documentation with a view to further streamlining the process and reducing turnaround times.

The Passport Tracker Service gives an indication of the estimated delivery date based on the vast majority of applications and is not an intended guarantee of service. I accept the frustration this may cause to applicants and work is ongoing to improve the information provided to customers in relation to their application.

The Customer Service Hub has handled approximately 80,000 customer queries since scaling up operations in June through its phone and web chat services. They also continue to examine ways to meet the very high demand for this service at this time including through the allocation of additional resources.

The Passport Service, like many Government Services, have been impacted by COVID-19. Operations have been maintained notwithstanding the fact that the processing of passports requires physical attendance on site to deliver this service. As a result of well implemented safety protocols our staff were able to assist citizens who required passports for a range of emergency and urgent personal, business or legal reasons, or who had compelling humanitarian needs to travel.

In line with our continued scaling up of services my Department are actively planning for the opening of our Public Offices for the processing of urgent applications for those renewing their passport. This service will resume initially in the public office of the Passport Service in Dublin and we will be making a public announcement on the specific date very soon.