Written Answers. - Passport Office.
Nora Owen
Question:
4
Mrs. Owen
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs
if he will make available all necessary resources to the Passport Office to ensure that, during this busy period, there is no repeat of the queues and delays of 1992.
Ivor Callely
Question:
68
Mr. Callely
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs
if he has satisfied himself that there is adequate staffing in the Passport Office to avoid delays in the issuing of passports, in particular for the summer months when there is a noticeable increase in demand for passports; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Priority Questions Nos. 4 and 68 together.
The situation which developed at the Passport Office last year was exceptional in that the postal strike coincided with the busy peak season for passport applications. Queues and delays on the same scale are not anticipated this year.
However, the months of April to July are always extremely busy for the Passport Office, with an average number of passport applications of around 1,200 per day. Every effort is made to deal as efficiently as possible with this exceptionally heavy demand. Each year, significant numbers of additional temporary staff are recruited; at present there are about 65 additional staff members supplementing the permanent staff of the Passport Office.
The passport application form states that six weeks should be allowed for applications to be processed during the peak season. Currently, properly completed postal applications are dealt with in about four weeks. By international standards, this is considered a reasonable waiting period.
A special emphasis has been placed on trying to overcome the problems associated with seasonality of demand. I would draw the attention of the House to the introduction last year of a special low-season fee, which was, I believe, very well received by the public. The Department has over the past few years also conducted a publicity campaign with the aim of encouraging people to apply for their passports in good time. As part of this campaign, the Passport Office has participated in the annual Holiday Fairs in Dublin and, as from last year, in Cork, at which it has dealt with several thousand inquiries.
In addition, the Passport Office also ran an advertising campaign in the national press at the end of March aimed specifically at urging those intending to travel abroad to check that they had an up-to-date passport and if not, to apply in good time and to apply as far as possible by post. A greater reliance on postal applications would help substantially to reduce queues in the Passport Office.
We will continue to monitor the operation of the Passport Office very closely to ensure that everything possible is done to improve the quality of service to the public.
