Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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182. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the measures being undertaken by his Department to ensure that there is sufficient staffing numbers in passport services in order that the current processing times for passport applications are maintained, in view that a spike in volume of passport applications received by passport services often occurs in the lead up to and during the summer months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27407/25]

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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184. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the increase, if any, in staff numbers in the Passport Office this year; the staff positions in the service which were filled as a result of any increase; his Department's plans to further boost staff numbers in the Passport Office ahead of the busier summer holiday period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27343/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 182 and 184 together.

The Passport Service is successfully meeting high demand for passports and is very well staffed to meet the current level of demand. To date this year, the Passport Service has issued over 440,000 passport books and cards. The Customer Service Hub is responding to almost 12,000 phone and webchat queries per week.

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

While demand for passports and Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) has increased significantly over the past decade, my Department has made it a priority to ensure that excellent customer service is maintained throughout the year. My Department engages in comprehensive workforce planning and workload management processes, based on forecasted demand for passports. Due to my Department’s vigilant monitoring of passport and FBR applications and proactive management of resources, the Passport Service is in an excellent position to meet forecasted demand for 2025.

Currently, the Passport Service employs a total of 858 staff, which represents 98% of the approved staffing target for this year. Additionally where necessary the Passport Service offers voluntary overtime to staff to ensure service continuity.

As always, I would ask Deputies to encourage their constituents to apply for their passports through Passport Online, as the quickest, easiest and most cost effective way to apply for a passport. The Passport Online service allows citizens to apply online for their passport 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Passport Online is available to 99.9% of all applicants globally. As a matter of best practice, applicants should check the validity of their passport before booking travel.