Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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34.To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of passport applications which were discarded having been in processing for six months, in each of the years 2019 to 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24717/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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A Passport Online application is valid in the Passport Service system for a period of 6 months from when the application is made. From the time that the required supporting documents are received, the Passport Service works with the applicant to process the application and ensure all required documents have been submitted to prove the applicant's entitlement to Irish citizenship, to verify their identity, and in the cases of children, to ensure that consent of guardians is provided.

In some cases, the required supporting documents are not received from the applicant during the 6 month validity period. In such cases, the application will expire and a refund will issue to the applicant.

Reminder emails are sent to applicants who have not submitted the required supporting documents at 6, 12 and 16 weeks after they make the initial online application. The applicants are requested to complete their applications and submit supporting documents. To date in 2024, an average of 2,200 reminder emails per week have been sent to applicants who have not completed their passport applications.

If the applicant has not submitted the required documentation within 20 weeks of having made their online passport application, the Passport Service will make a final review before cancelling the incomplete application. The applicant is notified of this by email and advised that they can apply again in the future.

Passport applications are valid for six months for a number of reasons including International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) regulations on the requirement for a recent photograph. The ICAO is a UN agency that defines in detail the required format for a passport. This six-month timeframe also ensures that a refund of the fees can be processed electronically if required. If the refund is not made electronically within six months then a bank transfer is required which can take significantly longer.

As outlined above, the cancellation process for incomplete applications begins at 20 weeks. The number of online passport applications that were cancelled at 20 weeks (or 5 months) and over, in each of the years 2019 to 2023 and to date in 2024, are outlined below in tabular form. It should be noted that the Passport Online service expanded significantly during this period. In addition to this, the number of citizens availing of the Passport Online service has increased exponentially over this period. Currently, over 90% of passport applicants apply online.

It should further be noted that the Passport Service resumed normal operations following pandemic-related restrictions in April 2021. At that point, priority was given to complete applications that could be processed. Throughout 2021 and 2022, significant work was done to deal with incomplete applications submitted during the pandemic that could not be progressed due to insufficient documentation. This is reflected in the high numbers of cancelled applications in 2022.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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35.To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if a passport can be expedited for a child (details supplied). [24731/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service initially requested further supporting documents from the applicant on 23 April 2024. The final set of further supporting documents were received from the applicant on 23 May 2024. The turnaround time following receipt of additional documents is 15 working days. This application is within the turnaround time and has not yet reached its issue-by date.

I strongly encourage the Deputy to advise his constituents of the advantages of using the substantially more efficient Passport Online service, which is now used by more than 90% of applicants worldwide.