Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent)
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81. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the inconsistency in the time-scale of the issuing of passports given that some persons are waiting extremely long periods and others receive passports in a couple of days; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7113/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Passport Service is currently processing 45% of adult online renewal application in one working day, while 99% of online child renewal passports are issued within the advertised processing time of 15 working days. The processing times for these standard online renewal passport applications compare very favourably to processing times internationally in countries such as the UK, United States, Canada and Australia.

The Passport Service is currently experiencing high demand for first time passports, particularly for children. First time passport applications do take longer to process and there are a number of reasons for this:

- It is important to check the applicant’s identity and their entitlement to Irish citizenship. The Irish passport was recently ranked 5th in the Henley Global Passport Index as it provides our citizens with visa-free access to 187 countries. This is something we can all be proud of. However, in order to maintain this ranking and to protect the integrity of the Irish passport, the Passport Service must validate the true identity of the applicant and take measures to confirm the applicant’s entitlement to Irish citizenship. Accordingly, a rigorous analysis process is in place to verify the identity and citizenship status of first time applicants

- In the case of children, it is essential that the Passport Service verifies the consent of the child’s guardians before a passport can issue. This ensures that the Passport Service protects the rights of the child and their guardians.

- Due to the intensive analysis and extra measures undertaken by highly trained and experienced staff, first time applications take 40 working days to process.

While there is a very high volume of applications in the system, this does not represent a backlog. Figures show that there are currently 76,000 (53%) applications that are fully complete and are being processed by the Passport Service. There are also 67,000 applications (47%) in the system where the Passport Service is waiting for the customer to complete the application. In these cases, the onus is on the customer to submit the required documents to the Service.

In the case of children's passports, recent Passport Service figures show that in the case of 77% of incomplete children's first time and renewal applications, parents have completed the online registration process but have not yet submitted the witnessed identity and consent form or important documents such as the child's birth certificate. In these cases, the Passport Service simply cannot move the application forward until the required documentation is received and the processing time will take longer. The Passport Service makes every effort to contact applicants in such circumstances. However, their experience is that many applicants take weeks and sometimes months to send in the necessary documents.

The current turnaround time for An Post’s mail-in “Passport Express” service is 8 weeks. Proposed turnaround times for 2022 aim to reduce this processing time. 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 Passport Online Service is four times quicker than paper-based applications for adult and child renewal applications and is the fastest, easiest and safest way to apply for a passport. Over 90% of applicants now apply online compared to 47% of applications received online in 2019.

My Department has been pro-actively planning to ensure the necessary resources are in place to meet the current and expected level of demand in 2022. The Passport Service is currently implementing a number of measures that will positively impact the current turnaround times and improve customer service including the allocation of additional staff, intensive training of new staff and upskilling of existing staff and the prioritisation of first time applications.

In addition, a new document management process is being put in place that allows for a much quicker turnaround time when an applicant is asked to submit additional documents. Once these documents are received, they will be prioritised and complete applications will be processed in 3 weeks. This will greatly reduce the waiting time for applicants who are missing documents in their initial application.

I strongly urge anyone who is considering travelling overseas this year, particularly families with young children, to check the validity of their passports before booking travel and to apply for their passports online in plenty of time.

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.