Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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307. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of full-time staff by grade working in the Passport Office as of 1 January 2022 and 22 November 2022, in tabular form. [59016/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 307 and 312 together.

Adequate staffing of the Passport Service to respond to demand has been a priority for my Department throughout 2022 and is an issue that is kept under constant review.

My Department ran 15 competitions in 2021/22 to address staffing needs in the Passport Service. The additional staffing numbers are having a very positive impact on the service being provided to citizens.

Recruitment will continue in the coming months to ensure that the Passport Service maintains the level of staffing required to ensure excellent customer service into 2023.

New office space in Balbriggan is now open, bringing the capacity of the Balbriggan campus up to over 500 and accommodating the increase in staff numbers.

The number of Passport Service staff as of 1 January 2022 and 22 November 2022 are outlined below by their official grade, in tabular form. A number of these staff worked in an acting-up capacity throughout 2022 at higher grades and this is not reflected in the numbers below.

The number of Passport Service staff as of 22 November for the years 2012-2022 are outlined below in tabular form.