Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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207. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of staff in the Passport Service, by role and by year for the years 2020 to date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34242/25]

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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208. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the expenditure on staffing of the Passport Service in the years 2020 to date in 2025, by year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34243/25]

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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209. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the cost associated with increasing staffing levels in the Passport Service by 10, 50 and 100 WTE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34244/25]

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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210. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the WTE equivalent within the Passport Service, by location; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34245/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 207, 208, 209 and 210 together.

The Passport Service is successfully meeting high demand for passports and has issued over 532,000 passports this year to date.

My Department engages in comprehensive workforce planning annually, based on forecasted passport demand. Staffing requirements for the upcoming year are formally approved by the Department’s Management Board on a yearly basis. As a result of this proactive approach, the Passport Service is well-positioned to meet forecasted demand for the remainder of the year.

Adequate staffing of the Passport Service to respond to demand continues to be a priority for the Department in 2025 and is an issue that is kept under constant review. To address the increased demand typically experienced during the busy spring and summer period, 133 TCOs have been assigned to the Passport Service since November 2024, ensuring adequate staffing levels.

My Department is implementing this year's staffing plan so that excellent customer service is maintained throughout periods of peak demand and is continuing to work to increase resources within the service.

The payroll costs incurred by the Department in relation to staffing in the Passport Service for the years 2020 to 31 May 2025 are outlined in Table 1 below.

Table 1 – Payroll Costs for Passport Service

Table 2 below outlines the annual number of staff by grade from 2020 to present. The 2025 figure is correct as of 31 May 2025.

Table 2 -Passport Service Staff by Grade and Location 2020-Present

With regard to the Deputy's question relating to increasing staffing levels in the passport service by increments of 10, 50 and 100, the costs are outlined in Table 3 below. These 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 managers to staff 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 3 – Estimated Salary and PRSI Costs of Additional Staff

Table 4 - Passport Service WTE equivalent by location