Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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123. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the average wait time for first-time passports and renewals, respectively in Cork. [22892/22]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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131. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of passport applications from counties Cork and Kerry, respectively that are currently outstanding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22914/22]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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147. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of passport applications from counties Kildare and Wicklow, 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. [22662/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 123, 131 and 147 together.

The Passport Service is proactively managing the current demand for passports and has put in place resources and structures to address the estimated significant increase in demand for passports in 2022 in this essential citizen service.

Since March of this year, the Passport Service has reduced the processing time for first time applications from 40 working days to 30 working days. This 25% reduction in processing times is as a direct result of the unprecedented level of investment that my Department has made in the Passport Service in terms of additional staff and improvements to the passport processing and customer service systems. 

Over 400,000 passports have been issued to date in 2022, compared to a total of 634,000 passports issued in 2021. 117,000 passports were issued in April alone with 45% of adult renewal passports being issued within one to two working days. 

There are currently 183,000 applications in the Passport Service system. While there is a very high volume of applications in the system, this does not represent a backlog. These applications are all being processed in the usual way, with a continuous stream of new applications and a continuous dispatch of completed passports happening every day.

Passport Service figures show that of the total number of passport applications in the system, 61% are fully complete and are being processed by the Passport Service. The other 39% of applications are incomplete, which means the Passport Service is waiting for the applicant to submit the necessary documentation required. 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. Applications that are incomplete cannot be processed within the average turnaround times.

The vast majority of applications are processed within the turnaround times outlined below:

- 10 working days for Simple Adult online renewals

- 15 working days for Complex or child online renewals

- 30 working days for First Time Applications on Passport Online

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

In relation to applications from county Cork, as with applications from all citizens, these are distributed for processing across the three Passport Offices in Dublin and Cork, on the basis of the type of application rather than county of residence of the applicant. Passport application turnaround times are the same for all citizens regardless of county of residence.

The Passport Service is taking a number steps to deal with increased demand on its services:

- The Passport Service has a comprehensive plan to ensure that adequate staff, accommodation and technology supports are in place to meet expected demand for passports in 2022.

- A major recruitment drive has been underway over the past several months, which has seen the number of Passport Service staff increase by over 300 since June 2021.

- The Passport Service is currently running its own recruitment competition for Temporary Clerical Officers. This recruitment effort will bring staffing numbers to over 900, which represents a doubling of staff compared to June 2021.

- Intensive training of new staff and upskilling of existing staff is underway to increase the resources that can process complex applications, such as first time child applications.

- The Passport Service is prioritising first time applications and directing increased resources to processing these complex applications with a view to reducing the current turnaround time. Passport Service staff are working targeted overtime in this regard.

- The Urgent Appointment Service is available for customers who wish to renew their passport at short notice. Customers availing of this service can renew their passport within 1 or 4 days in Dublin, within 4 days in Cork and within 5 days in London. 

- In February, the Passport Service increased the number of appointments at its public offices by 100%, providing an extra 170 Urgent Appointments per week. 

- A new document management system was put in place at the beginning of March. This aims to improve the processing speed in the Passport Service offices, and subsequent turnaround times for the applicant. One particular feature of the new system improves the processing time for applicants who have been asked to submit additional documents. Once the additional documents are received, they are being prioritised and complete applications can then be processed in 3 weeks. This significantly reduces the processing time, particularly for first time applicants.

- Public information media campaigns reminding citizens to check and renew their passports will continue during this busy year.

- There is an updated Department of Foreign Affairs website, which includes a new passport service section where applicants can easily find out what additional documents are required for their type of application.

- The Passport Service is also working on public education materials, including video tutorials, with a view to assisting applicants to complete their application correctly. These videos will be shared on social media and will include instructions on submitting consent forms for child applications properly. 

I am confident that the measures that have been implemented will help to reduce passport turnaround times in the course of 2022, particularly for first time applications, and will assist the Passport Service in meeting the high demand forecast for this year.

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.

The numbers of passport applications currently in the Passport Service system from counties Cork, Kerry, Kildare and Wicklow are outlined below in tabular form.

The table outlines the total number of applications in the system by county as well as the number that are currently being processed by the Passport Service and the number of applications that require further action from the applicant, such as the submission of additional documentation.