James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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301. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will examine the passport application of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55469/21]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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302. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when a passport will issue for a person (details supplied) in County Mayo in view of the fact the Passport Office received this application on 19 May 2021. [55525/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 301 and 302 together.

With regard to the specific applications about which the Deputies have enquired, the Passport Service has already issued passports to the applicants.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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303. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the additional procedures which must be completed for issuing a passport to a child of Irish citizens who are not Irish born; and if there are steps which can be taken to speed up this process. [55582/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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All passport applications are subject to the provisions of the Passports Act, 2008 (“The 2008 Act”). The Act provides, among other things, that a person must be an Irish citizen before a passport can be issued to him/her. In order to meet this legal requirement, each person must demonstrate an entitlement to Irish citizenship in his/her passport application.

As part of the identity and citizenship verification process, the Passport Service requires applicants themselves, or the applicant’s guardian in the case of applications for children, to submit all necessary supporting documents in order to establish the applicant’s identity and entitlement to citizenship.

For example, in the case of a child born on the island of Ireland to an Irish citizen, who themselves were not born on the island of Ireland, proof of the parent’s Irish citizenship at the time of the applicant’s birth is required. In such cases, parents must submit a certified copy of their Irish passport along with their child’s first time passport application.

In a similar manner, In the case of Irish-born children claiming Irish citizenship through a parent who is a naturalised Irish citizen or received Irish citizenship through Foreign Birth Registration or Post Nuptial Citizenship Declaration, evidence must be given that the parent was in fact an Irish citizen before the child was born.

The current processing time for first time passport applications is 40 working days for Passport Online and 8 weeks for applications submitted through An Post's "Passport Express" service.

The Passport Service is currently experiencing a high demand for first time passports. There are currently 62,000 first time online applications on hand with the Passport Service. Over a third (23,000) of online first time applications are incomplete and require the applicant or their guardian to submit the documents necessary to complete the passport application. These cannot be processed by the Passport Service until all relevant documents have been submitted and the application is fully complete. The Passport Service engages with all applicants who have not submitted the required documentation to ensure that their application is completed correctly and can proceed through the processing system.

To protect the integrity of the Irish Passport, first time applications require careful processing in order to validate the identity of the applicant and their entitlement to Irish citizenship for the first time. Additionally, in the case of children, the consent of guardians must be validated. Accordingly, the current processing time for first-time online applications is longer than for that of a passport renewal application.

In the case of children born abroad to an Irish citizen, who themselves were not born in on the island of Ireland, but received Irish citizenship through descent, naturalisation, Foreign Birth Registration or Post Nuptial Citizenship Declaration before the child was born, the child may apply for Irish citizenship through Foreign Birth Registration. Once the child is entered onto the Foreign Births Register, they are an Irish citizen and are entitled to apply for an Irish passport. Information on how to apply for Irish citizenship through Foreign Birth Registration is available on my Department’s website (www.dfa.ie/citizenship/born-abroad/registering-a-foreign-birth).

Operations at the Passport Service were severely disrupted by public health restrictions brought about by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. During this period, unfortunately, it was necessary to pause Foreign Birth Registration processing in order to focus also on the provision of urgent passport services. As of Monday, 15th November, the processing of Foreign Birth Registration has resumed on a phased basis. My Department is fully committed to allocating resources over the coming weeks to assist with the high volume of applications, with a focus on reducing turnaround times.

The Passport Service continually examines how to improve processing times, including examining the processes around the verification and processing of the supporting documentation for first time passport and Foreign Birth Registration applications. The Passport Service is also working closely with the Department’s Human Resources Division and with the Public Appointments Service on an ongoing basis to recruit additional staff to meet the current and forecasted demand for passports and Foreign Birth Registration. We are planning for the recruitment and assignment of an additional 384 permanent and temporary staff between now and the end of January 2022, bringing total staff numbers to 920 and effectively doubling the number of staff at the Passport Service since June of this year.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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304. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of a passport renewal in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55603/21]

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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305. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of a passport application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55605/21]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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307. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if a passport can issue for a person (details supplied) in view of the fact that this person has not seen their family for two years. [55624/21]

Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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325. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if a passport application by a person (details supplied) will be reviewed and expedited;; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56164/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 304, 305, 307 and 325 together.

With regard to the specific applications about which the Deputies have enquired, the Passport Service has provided an update on the status of the passport application to the applicant.

The current 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 for applications which have been completed correctly.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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306. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if a passport can issue for a person (details supplied) on time for their travel plans. [55623/21]

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 application has been cancelled by the applicant's guardian.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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308. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will amend the process for applications submitted by Passport Express in order that the parents of minors are notified via telephone of a possible error rather than by letter in order that it can be immediately rectified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55627/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department fully recognises that Passport Express, and Northern Ireland Passport Express, continue to be an important channel for applicants who do not wish to use the online system or who have limited digital skills.

Passport applicants who choose to use An Post's paper-based, mail-in "Passport Express" service receive a letter from the Passport Service if additional documents are required in order to correctly complete their application. This provides both the applicant and the Passport Service with a clear, written record of the documents that are outstanding. Letters to applicants are dispatched for delivery by An Post and are generally received by applicants resident in Ireland within one working day.

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 consistently up to four times faster than the processing time of a paper application. In addition, Passport Online allows for the Passport Service to email applicants with regard to any outstanding documents required.

Passport Online can be accessed by all first time applicants, irrespective of age 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.