Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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108. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of staff employed in the Passport Service; the cost of increasing staffing levels by 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42844/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Passport Service has issued over 910,000 passports to date this 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.

There are currently 794 staff employed in the Passport Service. Staffing levels reached 847 officers during the busy summer season. The adequate staffing of the Passport Service, to respond to demand, continues to be a priority for the Department and is kept under constant review. Recruitment to address staffing needs is ongoing and the Department recently ran a Temporary Clerical Officer competition for the Passport Service to ensure that adequate staffing is in place to meet demand for the rest of this year and into next year.

With regard to the Deputy's question relating to increasing staffing levels in the passport service by increments of 5% (40 staff), 10% (80 staff), 15% (120 staff) and 20% (160 staff), the costs are outlined in Table 1 below. Costs are based on the salary costs associated with Clerical Officers (COs), Executive Officers (EOs), and Higher Executive Officers (HEOS) on the mid-point of the scale and include the employer's PRSI contribution costs. The management structure outlined in the table correlates to the ratio of Higher Executive Officers and Executive Officers to Clerical Officers typical in the Passport Service. These costs do not include additional costs that would be incurred by an increase in staff including accommodation, utilities and equipment costs.

Table 1 – Estimated Salary & PRSI Costs of Additional Staff