Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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53.To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the breakdown of the number of passports issued in 2023 and to date in 2024, by county, of online passport applications, paper applications, four day renewals and one-day urgent renewals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33180/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Passport Service has issued over 700,000 passports this year, and current demand forecasts indicate that over a million passports will issue by the end of the year. Virtually all complete passport applications are being processed within or before advertised turnaround times, with the majority of adult online renewal applications issuing within two working days.

Passport turnaround times are:

• 10 working days for simple adult online renewals

• 15 working days for complex or child online renewals

• 20 working days for first time online applications

• 8 weeks for Post Passport (paper) applications

It is important to note that processing times do not begin when the applicant applies online. Processing time is calculated once the Passport Service receives any supporting documents that are required to complete the application.

I encourage everyone to apply online through the Passport Online service which offers citizens the ability to apply for their passport 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is a user-friendly, efficient service that consistently offers processing times over 4 times faster than paper-based passport adult renewal applications. The online service is now available to 99.9% of all applicants around the world, including babies, children and first time applicants.

The Passport Service remains committed to offering a range of application channels, including a paper-based service for citizens who do not wish to use the Passport Online service. Paper applications, by their nature, will always be a slower process. Therefore, the turnaround time for all paper applications is 8 weeks. Passport Service figures show that only 5% of applicants now use the Post Passport channel.

I would ask the Deputy to encourage his constituents to apply on time and online for the quickest, cheapest and most efficient service.

The number of passports issued by county of applicants' residence in 2023 and 2024 are outlined below in tabular form. While these figures are as accurate as possible, there may be discrepancies with some paper application numbers if the county of residence is not provided by the applicant on the application form.

Table 1 - Passports issued by County of Residence - 1 January to 18 July 2024

Table 2 - Passports Issued by County of Residence - 2023