John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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22. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of applications for passports from residents of Dublin city and county that are currently outstanding; the planning that is being carried out to ensure that there is no repeat of the delays with applications experienced in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3694/22]

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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32. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of applications for passports from counties Cork and Kerry that are currently outstanding; the planning that is being carried out to ensure that there is no repeat of the delays with applications experienced in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3761/22]

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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38. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the up-to-date position regarding the issuing of new passports given the improving travel outlook and the existing delays in passport applications and renewals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3853/22]

Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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40. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of applications for passports from counties Longford and Westmeath that are currently outstanding; the planning that is being carried out to ensure that there is no repeat of the delays with applications experienced in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3696/22]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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45. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of applications for passports from counties Mayo, Galway, Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal, respectively that are currently outstanding; the planning that is being carried out to ensure that there is no repeat of the delays with applications experienced in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3624/22]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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50. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of applications for passports from each of the counties of Limerick, Clare and Tipperary that are currently outstanding; the planning that is being done to ensure that there is no repeat of the delays with applications experienced in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3697/22]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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56. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of applications for passports from counties Kildare and Wicklow that are currently outstanding; the planning that is being carried out to ensure that there is no repeat of the delays with applications experienced in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3763/22]

Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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62. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the delay in processing passport applications for first-time passports for children and new citizens; the steps his Department is taking to alleviate this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3909/22]

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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66. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of applications for passports from each of the counties of Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford that are currently outstanding; the planning that is being done to ensure that there is no repeat of the delays with applications experienced in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3698/22]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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67. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the proposals to reduce the waiting time for passport applications; if additional resources are being allocated for improving waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3788/22]

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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69. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the measures that are being taken to deal with the current processing times for passports given the number of renewals due for renewal in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3903/22]

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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75. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps being taken to reduce waiting times for passport applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3931/22]

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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80. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of applications for passports from counties Offaly and Laois that are currently outstanding; the planning that is being carried out to ensure that there is no repeat of the delays with applications experienced in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3692/22]

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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85. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the current wait time for a passport in County Cork. [3857/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 22, 32, 38, 40, 45, 50, 56, 62, 64, 66, 67, 69, 75, 80 and 85 together.

Passport Service operations were severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, as were many Government services. The Passport Service maintained operations throughout the pandemic, notwithstanding the fact that the processing of passports requires physical attendance on site to deliver this service. Despite the disruptions related to the pandemic throughout last year, the Passport Service issued over 634,000 passports in 2021 and 45% of simple adult renewals issued within one business day.

The Passport Service has been experiencing very high demand for passports since May 2021 and expects a high level of demand for passports to continue throughout this year. The Passport Service has put several measures in place to meet this anticipated demand. The Passport Service continually examines how to improve processing times and engagement with applicants. Preparation is currently underway for several system and service improvements that will enhance the customer service experience and will improve processing times. A particular improvement that will be of interest to Deputies is a change to the documentary management process that reduces the turnaround time when additional documents need to be submitted by the applicant.

In addition, my Department has been actively working with the Public Appointments Service to recruit additional permanent and temporary staff for assignment to the Passport Service. This recruitment drive has been underway since the last quarter of 2021 and will double the number of staff in the Passport Service from June 2021 levels. A significant number of additional staff are being assigned to the Passport Service throughout January, February and March. I am confident that these additional staff will help to reduce turnaround times and to respond to the current and anticipated high demand for first time and renewal passports in 2022.

In the context of the National Development Plan, my Department is making a major investment in the future of the Passport Service. Over the next couple of years, we will replace the core technology underpinning the service, which will deliver efficiencies and a more resilient passport system. Budget 2022 also included an investment of an additional €10m in passport services in response to the increasing demand for passports both at home and abroad.

The current passport processing times are:

- 10 working days for Simple Adult online renewals

- 15 working days for Complex or child online renewals

- 40 working days for First Time Applications on Passport Online

- 8 weeks for An Post’s mail-in “Passport Express” service

There are currently 100,000 online applications and 13,000 paper applications on hand with the Passport Service. The passport processing times are based on current average application turnaround times and relate to passport applications submitted to the Passport Service with required supporting documentation. When passport applicants do not provide all of the requisite documentation to the Passport Service, it takes much longer to process the application and issue a passport. Passport Service figures show that 45% of current applications are incomplete and the onus is on the applicant to submit the required documents to the Service. While the Passport Service makes every effort to contact applicants in such circumstances, their experience is that many applicants take weeks and sometimes months to send in the necessary documents.

The Passport Service is currently experiencing high demand for first time passports, particularly for children. These first time applications are necessarily complex to process, since they are essentially applications for Irish citizenship. The Passport Service must validate the true identity of the applicant and take measures to confirm the applicant’s entitlement to Irish citizenship. It is the statutory responsibility of the Passport Service to protect the integrity of the Irish passport. Accordingly, a rigorous analysis process is in place to verify the identity and citizenship status of first time applicants. In the case of first time passport applications for children, the consent of guardians must also be thoroughly validated. Due to the intensive analysis underpinning first time online passport applications, the processing time is 40 working days.

There are currently 30,000 first time child applications on hand with the Passport Service. Of these, almost 13,000 or 43% are incomplete applications that require additional documentation from the applicants’ guardians in order to complete the application and ensure that the child’s passport can be issued.

Passport Online is the priority channel for applications as there are many efficiencies 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.

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.

I urge citizens to check the validity of their passports before booking travel and to ensure that they apply in plenty of time. In the case of people planning to travel this year, whose passports are already out of date or who have children who are first-time applicants, I would encourage them to apply now online.

The table below outlines the number of complete online passport applications currently on hand with the Passport Service by county.

Online passport applications with Passport Service by county