asked the Minister for External Affairs whether he is aware of the inconvenience suffered by members of the public who have to wait for long periods at the Passport Office, Stephen's Green, Dublin, and if he will state whether he will increase the staff at that office with a view to obviating the delay in dealing with the members of the public who attend there.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Passport Office.
The position referred to by the Deputy came under notice early this month, and on the 9th July, four additional officials were assigned to the Passport Office to deal with it.
The position has since improved. Some delay is inevitable when a large number of inquires happen to call at the Passport Office at the same time, but on the whole, I do not think there is now any serious cause for complaint.
The position is being kept under constant review, and I can assure the Deputy that, if further measures are necessary to save inquires at the Passport Office undue delay and inconvenience, the necessary action will be taken.
Arising out of the Minister's reply, is he aware that it probably takes a person one-and-a-half hours to get out of the office once he goes in? I have personal experience of that. I sent a person to the office one day and he came back and informed me that he was kept there for one-and-a-half hours. I had occasion to visit the Passport Office, and it seemed to me that if the case were dealt with in ordinary course. I would be at least one-and-a-half hours in the place. Will the Taoiseach have the case specially investigated with a view to procuring some kind of acceleration in the transaction of business which at present is quite chaotic?
My information is that at certain times of the day, whether it is that trains come in at that hour, or otherwise, there is a very large number of different classes of inquirers. Some of them can be dealt with easily, without any need to look up records, and so on, and an effort is made to put cases of this kind into one queue and have them dealt with as quickly as possible. Other cases may necessitate inquiries, which take a certain amount of time, looking up records, and so on, and unless you were unduly to increase the size of the staff to meet that one particular kind of case, I do not think it can be handled much more expeditiously than it is being handled at the moment.
What is the peak time?
From about 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock.
I can assure the Minister that I called there at 10 o'clock in the morning and at that time there were about 30 people in front of me. Having made inquiries as to how long it takes to deal with an inquiry I was told it would be unlikely that I would get out of the place in less than one and a half hours. The only thing to do during the one and a half hours is to lie over the counter uttering maledictions. Would the Minister have further inquiries made in the matter? If he will, I feel sure he will recognise the necessity for additional staff.
I am aware of what the situation is at the moment and I have told the Deputy that I will have the matter kept under constant review to see if there is anything that it is necessary to do.