Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Passport Service is successfully meeting high demand for passports. So far in 2024, the Passport Service has issued over 200,000 passports.

There are currently 147,000 passport applications in the system. 83,000, or 56%, of these applications, are with the Passport Service for processing. The remaining 64,000 are awaiting further action by the applicant before they can be progressed. This means that the Passport Service is waiting for the applicant to submit supporting documents in order to move the application forward.

The turnaround times for passport applications are:

• 10 working days for simple online adult renewals
• 15 working days for complex or child online renewals
• 20 working days for first time online applications
• 8 weeks for post passport or paper applications

The Passport Service is currently ahead of all of its advertised turnaround times and there are no backlogs.

The Passport Service is well-resourced to meet forecasted demand for 2024. My Department has implemented a staffing plan to ensure that excellent customer service is maintained throughout periods of peak demand and is continuing to work to increase resources within the service.

The Passport Online service offers Irish citizens the ability to apply online for their passport 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is a user-friendly, efficient service that consistently offers processing times up to 4 times faster than paper-based passport renewal applications. 99.9% of all first-time and renewal applicants worldwide can apply now online.

Applicants can easily access the information they need through calling the Passport Service Customer Hub or through Webchat. The Customer Service Hub responds to an average of 10,000 queries per week.

2024 is expected to be another busy year for the Passport Service and the Passport Service is in an excellent position to meet the demand forecasted for this year.