Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 May 2016
590. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the additional resources he has made available to ensure there is not undue delay in processing passport applications at this busy time of the year. [10503/16]
View answerThroughout this year the demand for passports has been exceptionally high. From 1 January to 13 May the Passport Service has received a total of 314,585 applications for passport books and 9,475 for passport cards. This represents a significant increase of almost 15% in applications for passport books compared to the same period last year.
To address the anticipated increase over the summer season, the Passport Service has recruited Temporary Clerical Officers who will work a total of 5,122 weeks this year. Additional Temporary Clerical Officers will be recruited shortly for a total of 780 weeks to manage the significant increase in phone calls and customer queries over the remaining peak period to August. In view of the sustained increase in applications over last year processing work has been redistributed across passport offices in recent months and staff re-deployed from other areas of the Department as needed to respond to the increased workload.
I strongly recommend that citizens check that the expiry date on their passports, prior to booking overseas travel. While Passport Express passport renewal applications can take up to 15 working days to process, it is best practice for prospective travellers to allow at least six weeks for passport applications to be processed and to take special care to ensure that application forms are correctly completed (for example failure to submit the necessary documentation required by an application can often cause a delay in processing turnaround time). Submission of applications in good time is particularly important during the peak season which runs from April until August.
The Passport Service will continue to closely monitor the situation, including to ensure the effective deployment of staff resources.
