Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 July 2016
27. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to provide additional resources to the passport office (details supplied) to deal with the massive backlog of applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19351/16]
View answerI congratulate the Minister sincerely on his reappointment and look forward to working with him and wish him good luck and success. What are the Minister's plans to provide additional resources to the passport office to deal with the massive backlog of applications? Could he make a statement on this matter, please?
The passport service is in peak season with 53,139 applications in the system as of 1 July. The level of demand is very high this year with an 11% rise in the number of applications year-to-date compared to the same period last year. However, the situation has improved somewhat in recent weeks. On 31 May, there were a total of 68,009 applications in the system and this figure has fallen throughout June.
To respond to the seasonal spike in demand and the more general increase in applications, a total of 233 temporary clerical officers have been recruited so far this year, an increase of 62 on last year. Furthermore, processing work has been redistributed across passport offices and staff have been redeployed from other areas of the Department as needed. As a matter of best practice, I recommend that applicants apply well in advance of travel and allow six weeks in case any difficulty arises with an application, for example, an incomplete application form.
The most convenient way to apply for a passport is via passport express. The passport office advises applicants to allow 15 working days for renewals submitted via passport express. At the moment, these applications are being processed within 13 working days. First-time applications take longer due to additional anti-fraud measures and the passport office advisers to first-time applicants using password express to allow 20 working days. At the current time, first-time applications are taking 19 working days.
While there is likely to be an increase in the number of first-time applications submitted from the UK and British people living overseas, it is too early to assess how significant this will be. We are seeing an increased number of queries relating to passport and citizenship from Northern Ireland, Great Britain and elsewhere. The passport office will continue to closely monitor the situation to ensure the effective deployment of staff resources and to minimise the impact of the high volume of applications on turnaround times and customer service. The need for additional resources will be kept under review.
I thank the Minister for his reply. I have to compliment the Trojan work of those in the passport office who are dealing with a major backlog and applications. I would like the Minister to go back with a very clear message to those working in his office and offer my sincerest thanks to them for their efforts and the Trojan work they do in emergency and urgent cases. When people's lives are upset and they are experiencing trauma, we have received nothing but the utmost courtesy, dedication and determination from those working in the Minister's Department. I want to acknowledge that, as well as those working in ordinary passport offices. I want my message to go back to those dealing with the mountains of applications that we sincerely thank them for their work. They are dealing with people who are highly distressed. People may have to travel for a funeral or may have made arrangements and find themselves without passports, and as a result they are extremely upset. They are treated very well to the best of people's abilities.
I acknowledge the Deputy's kind words. I will be more than happy to convey his very kind and well-received remarks directly to Mr. Austin Gormley in the passport office and his team. I acknowledge that they work very hard in challenging circumstances. It is not often that the House is witness to kind remarks of the type we heard from Deputy Healy-Rae. I take them as they were given, namely, in very good faith.
I wish to underline that there is no need for concern about current freedom of movement or entitlement to an Irish passport. The process of negotiation to enable the United Kingdom to leave the European Union is likely to take at least two years, as envisaged under Article 50 of the treaty of the EU once the article has commenced. During this period, the UK remains a member of the EU and its citizens continue to enjoy full rights, including freedom of movement, within the EU. The referendum in Britain has in no way changed the entitlement to an Irish passport, including as it extends to people born on the island of Ireland and those who may be entitled to Irish citizenship through parents or grandparents who were born in Ireland.
I thank the Minister. Does he believe the decision of the UK to leave the EU will lead to a further spike in the number of applications being submitted for Irish passports? Can he continue to provide additional staffing and resources when this happens?
Can the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade arrange that notification of the current passport waiting times is sent to all post offices in the country? Some post offices are informing applicants that the normal passport express time of ten days still applies. As the Minister knows, that is inaccurate. I ask that we keep post offices informed and wonder whether there is a cost effective way of doing so. It might be a major task, but with modern communications surely there is some way that post offices could be advised of accurate waiting times. They could put up notices to advise people of the current waiting times. If that could be arranged it would be very helpful.
The Deputy makes a very important point. The passport service offers a passport reminder service to customers, which can be accessed via the passport service web page, www.passport.ie. It automatically sends an e-mail three and six months before a passport is due to expire to those who register. Registration simply requires passport holders to record their names, e-mail addresses and expiry dates of their passports. It is envisaged that as part of the future online application process for passport renewals for adults, which is scheduled to launch in early 2017, reminder notifications will automatically be sent to passport holders well in advance of renewal dates.
In respect of the Deputy's concern regarding the Irish community in Britain following the referendum, according to the 2011 census for England and Wales and Scotland, there are a total of 430,000 Irish-born people resident in Britain, 407,000 in England and Wales and 23,000 in Scotland. Estimates vary as to how many second and later generation Irish people live in Britain. It is not possible to say what proportion of these people may apply for an Irish passport. We will continue to monitor the situation. In the meantime, there is no need for concern because the current legal regulations still apply and will continue to apply until after the conclusion of negotiations.
