Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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205. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason for the delay in processing of passports for two persons (details supplied). [64936/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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All passport applications are subject to the provisions of the Passports Act, 2008 (“the 2008 Act”).

First time applications are necessarily complex to process, since they are essentially applications for Irish citizenship. The Passport Service must validate the true identity of the applicant and take measures to confirm the applicant’s entitlement to Irish citizenship. It is the responsibility of the Passport Service to protect the integrity of the Irish passport. Accordingly, a rigorous analysis process is in place to verify the identity and citizenship status of first time applicants.

In the case of first time passport applications for children, the consent of guardians must also be thoroughly validated. The witnessing of identity and consent forms provides evidence that guardians give consent for a passport to be issued to the child. In order to protect the integrity of the Irish passport and also the rights of parents or guardians and children, it is important that forms are correctly completed and the witness is verified by the Passport Service.

From the time that the 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 case of children, to ensure that consent of guardians is verified.

With regard to the applications raised by the Deputy, both applications were first time children's applications. The first application's supporting documents were received by the Passport Service on 23/12/2021. Passport Service operations were severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as were many Government services. From May 2021 onwards, the Passport Service experienced very high demand for first time passports, particularly for children. In late 2021/early 2022, the advertised turnaround time was 40 working days due to post-Covid challenges.

The Passport Service have reviewed the second application raised by the Deputy and it appears that there were multiple issues contacting the witnesses who signed the applicant's identity and consent forms. Following considerable engagement with the applicant’s parent throughout August 2024, the third and final identity and consent form was submitted on 29/08/2024. Regrettably, as a new form had also been requested on that day, the application appears not to have updated to reflect this document being received, leading to a minor delay. Once the issue was recognised, the application was immediately processed and the passport was issued on 09/10/2024.

The Passport Service continually examines how to improve processing times and engagement with applicants. First time applications are now processed within 20 working days, if applications are submitted correctly.