Vol. 307 No. 13
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is aware of the extreme congestion and long delays at the Passport Office; and if, in order to avoid serious inconvenience to the public, some of whom have to travel long distances, he will regionalise the operations of this office.
180.
andMr. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he will take to relieve the chaotic conditions that exist in the Passport Office for the general public.
: With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I would propose to answer Questions Nos. 179 and 180 together.
The present unsatisfactory situation in the Passport Office in dealing with callers to the public office in Dublin is temporary and arises from the unprecedented demand for passports this year. Applications for new passports and renewal of existing passports are now being received at the rate of 1,000 per day. The staff of the Passport Office have been strengthened considerably and every effort is being made to cater for this unforeseeable demand.
There is at present a maximum waiting period of two weeks in issuing new passports which is not unusual by international standards. The position regarding renewal of passports is more up-to-date. It would be helpful if applicants travelling on a date more than two weeks after the receipt of their correctly completed applications in the Passport Office could refrain from contacting the Passport Office either by telephone or by personal calls. There is no necessity for them to do so and their inquiries only delay the processing of more urgent applications.
Applicants are strongly advised to apply for passport facilities in good time and should follow carefully the instructions on the application form. It is expected that within the next two or three weeks the backlog of passport applications will be reduced to a waiting period of about one week. The present situation is, therefore, of a temporary nature, but I would nevertheless wish to express regret for the inconvenience caused to any passport applicants.
The proposal to regionalise the operations of the Passport Office has been considered but I am satisfied that the volume of passport applications would not warrant the establishment of regional passport offices. There would, of course, be a number of disadvantages in having more than one Passport Office and there would be no guarantee that the present unexpected increase in applications would not create equally difficult conditions for regional offices. My intention is to concentrate on the continued improvement of the operations of the Passport Office in Dublin which would aim at maintaining a service of providing a passport even at peak periods in at most one week.
In the meantime it would also be very helpful if travel agents and tour organisers reminded their customers of the necessity to submit applications in good time.
