asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he intends to take to end the unacceptable delays at the Passport Office, Dublin 2, in particular to prevent people having to queue for lengthy periods for service; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Passport Office.
8.
The queues to which the Deputy refers arose mainly in May and June when the receipt of a record 59,100 passport applications coincided with a postal strike in the Dublin area and its aftermath. To deal with these queues the following steps were taken: The staff of the Passport Office was increased by a further 15 per cent in addition to the normal summer intake of extra staff bringing the number employed to nearly 120. Overtime was worked for several weeks. The office was open until well past normal working hours to take care of those who applied in person. The media were kept informed of the situation and of the steps taken in an effort to avoid people queuing unnecessarily.
Despite the unprecedent demand and the pressure to which the system was subject, all normal passport applications were processed within seven working days and no intending traveller was disappointed.
I do, of course, regret the queues that appeared during the period in question. However, I am satisifed that all was done that could have been done by the Passport Office to cope with them. I would make the point that an Irish passport is a valuable document of identity which can only be issued following careful checks on identity. It would not, I believe, be in the interest of the Irish public to sacrifice security for speed or otherwise put at risk the integrity of the Irish passport. For this reason a passport cannot simply be available on demand except in the case of a genuine emergency which will always be dealt with quickly and sympathetically.
Having said that I would repeat the appeal the former Minister made some months ago that all those who intend holidaying abroad this year or for that matter any other year, should check that they have an up-to-date passport and, in the event that they do not have one, they should apply in good time by post.
I accept that the staff of the Passport Office are doing a good job in the circumstances but the question related to the queues. My information is that the queues continue to be up to two hours even up to today. What increase in staff does 15 per cent constitute? Secondly, if nothing can be done to prevent our young people leaving the country in such numbers, could we at least take some steps to cause normal toilet facilities to be provided for the people who must wait in these interminable queues?
I will do the percentage sum for Deputy Rabbitte from the answer I have already given him. There was a 15 per cent increase in staff and the number employed now is 120.
What does that mean?
If there was a 15 per cent increase and that gives you 120 you can work from that. As a matter of fact, it is slightly less than 15. We are not getting into the mathematics of the percentage of increase——
(Interruptions.)
Let us hear the Minister out.
In reply to Deputy Rabbitte, I feel he should understand that the suggestion in his supplementary question that all these passports were issued to young people emigrating is not one I accept, so I just put down a marker for that. I use the words, "holidaying", "holidaymakers".
A Deputy
Are there any old age pensioners in the queue?
Thirdly, in regard to the final part of Deputy Rabbitte's question, space is insufficient in the present Passport Office to permit the provision of public toilet facilities. That is the reality. What we can do about it I do not know. Right now there is no space there. Does it mean shifting to a new building? Can we get a new building? There are a number of problems there.
Some years ago in an effort to facilitate citizens outside Dublin, of whom there is quite a number, a passport sub-office was opened in Cork which helped greatly to relieve pressure on the Passport Office in Molesworth Street. I think that has proved very successful. I am sure the Minister's file will give him figures to support that claim. Would he now consider opening offices also in Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Sligo, population centres like that? The ordinary person in Dublin who applies for a passport just has to pay his £30. If you want a passport and are living in Cork you have to pay out the train fare as well to get to Dublin, something Dublin Deputies sometimes forget. It is very much more expensive to live outside Dublin. Will the Minister agree that opening an office in Cork was a success? If he agrees with that, will he then consider opening offices in other population centres?
I will tell you what I will do for Deputy Barry. I will have an examination carried out on the success or otherwise of the office in Cork, the cost involved etc. and if I think it is practical——
And toilets?
——we will see what we can do in Limerick, Galway and a few more places. I will not readily take the suggestion on board but I will examine it and see what is involved and whether we would be justified in adopting it.
I think the Minister's predecessor thought it was justified.
I remember in earlier times there was talk about closing down the office in Cork. That was when we were pulling back a little because money was scarce.
That would be typical. There was no question of closing down Dublin of course; it had to be Cork.
The Deputy would probably have mixed feelings if that happened. He may have liked it to happen but with his former Foreign Affairs hat on I am sure he would not have liked it to happen.
That would be the thinking of the Pale.
(Interruptions.)
I am reluctant to interrupt the ministerial nostalgia but I would like to ask the Minister about this percentage of staff. How many of them were retrained? Were they appointed to the office by way of transfer or were they new recruits? To make matters easy, let me ask the Minister if he will agree there is a case for a submission to the Office of Public Works from his Department and from him as Minister calling attention to the disgraceful lack of facilities for the public as Deputy Rabbitte's question has elicited?
With regard to the first part of Deputy Higgins's supplementary question, staff were transferred to the Passport Office from other parts of the Department and they are still there. Not alone were additional staff brought in, bringing the total figure up by 15 per cent to a total of 120, but long overtime hours were worked in an effort to reach the very high turnover figure we succeeded in reaching, that was a passport in, on average, seven days. I think the people involved are to be complimented on that.
With regard to the other part of the Deputy's question, we have already been in touch with the Office of Public Works to see how best we can be advised to deal with that problem.