Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 April 2011
37 Deputy Michael Creed asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is satisfied that he has adequate staff in the passport office to deal with seasonal demand for passports; his plans to recruit additional part-time staff; if so, the procedures in place for this recruitment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8078/11]
View answerThere are currently 313 staff in the Passport Service working in the Passport Offices in Dublin City Centre, Balbriggan, Cork and London. Passport demand is seasonal with almost 50% of all passport applications received in the four months April-July. To cope with the temporary seasonal increase in applications, temporary clerical officers are employed annually during the high demand season. This year fifty temporary clerical officer positions were sanctioned by the Department of Finance and these posts have now been filled. This is the same as the number of temporary staff recruited in 2010. Temporary staff for the Dublin City Centre Passport Office were recruited from Public Appointments Service panels and temporary staff for Cork and for Balbriggan were recruited through FÁS. We will continue to keep the matter under review.
