Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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399. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total number of passports issued for each month from 1 January 2021 to 31 January 2022, by the number of passport renewals and the number of new passports for each month; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7698/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The figures requested by the Deputy are outlined in the table below.

In January 2022, the Passport Service received over 137,000 new passport applications. This is the highest volume of monthly applications ever received and is as a direct result of the pent-up demand for passports following the relaxation of necessary travel restrictions due to the Covid pandemic. The Passport Service estimates that up to 1.7 million passport applications will be received this year.

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 and is making an unprecedented investment in the Passport Service in terms of additional staff and improvements to the passport processing and customer service systems.

My Department is working with the Public Appointments Service on a major recruitment drive that has been underway for several months. Since June of 2021, over 300 members of staff at all grades have been assigned to the Passport Service. Additional staff are being assigned on a weekly basis with a goal of reaching staff numbers of 900 by the end of March. This represents a doubling of staff numbers over the course of 9 months.

The Passport Service is implementing a number of further measures that will positively impact the turnaround times for passports and improve customer service:

- Intensive training of new staff and upskilling of existing staff is underway to increase the resources that can process complex applications.

- The Passport Service is actively prioritising first time applications and directing increased resources to processing these complex applications with a view to reducing the current turnaround time.

- 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.

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.

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 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 Books issued by the Passport Service January 2021 - January 2022