Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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104. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the measures that are in place to deal with any surge in demand in passport applications this year; if any surge in applications will affect the processing times currently being met; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13666/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 100 and 104 together.

The busy season for passports in 2023 is underway, and demand forecasts indicate that the Passport Service will issue just under 1.1 million passports this year. The busy period is expected to run until the end of June, with the peak expected in April.

Thanks to significant investment by the Government and the dedicated work of the Passport Service staff, substantial improvements were made in 2022 and full, normal service was restored following disruptions to the service during the pandemic. All processing times are at their target level and there are no backlogs.

The Passport Service has implemented operational and staffing plans for 2023 and as a result it is successfully meeting demand. The Passport Service has issued over 230,000 passports to date in 2023.

My Department has run 16 competitions since 2021 to address staffing needs in the Passport Service and another is currently underway. Adequate staffing remains a priority and recruitment will continue in the coming months. Additional office space on the Balbriggan campus provides over 200 additional workstations to accommodate the increase in staff numbers. This brings the total capacity of the Balbriggan campus to 500 workstations.

Currently, 100% of calls are being answered by the Customer Service Hub and the staffing plan for 2023 aims to ensure that excellent customer service is maintained during periods of peak demand.

Over 90% of applicants now apply through Passport Online. The Passport Communications Campaign for Winter-Spring 2023 focuses on highlighting the benefits of the Digital First approach for passport applications. Indications are that the campaign is having the desired impact. January was the second busiest month on record for the Passport Service, with over 148,000 applications received. Of these applications, 92% were made online.

There are currently 69,000 fully complete applications in the Passport Service system. There are a further 66,000 applications that are awaiting further action by the applicant.

The current processing times are as follows:

Online simple adult renewal - 10 working days

Online child/complex adult renewal - 15 working days

Online first time application, adult or child - 20 working days

Post Passport via An Post, adult or child - 8 weeks

I am confident that the staffing and accommodation measures implemented, along with other improvements, will continue to have a positive impact on passport processing times for 2023. I am also confident that the forecasted high demand for the coming months will continue to be successfully met by the Passport Service.

The number of passports that have been issued in each month of the past year are outlined below in tabular form: