Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 May 2017
649. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will consider the establishment of a passport office in the north west, in view of the distance of this region from Dublin and Cork and in view of rural post office closures; if he has discussed the establishment of a passport service in the north west with his departmental officials; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20628/17]
View answerThe large majority of passport applications are currently submitted through the post office networks on this island. This includes more than seventy post offices in Northern Ireland and more than one thousand post offices in this state. With the availability of both the online passport renewal service for adults and the An Post Passport Express service, very few applicants in Ireland are required to travel a significant distance in order to apply for their passport. In the relatively small number of cases where citizens need to travel very urgently and do not have a valid passport, the Passport Offices in Dublin and Cork offer an appointment service. These appointments must be made online.
The introduction of the online passport application service which I launched on 30 March will greatly assist in managing current and future passport demand. The service is for adults who are renewing their existing passport, whether they live in Ireland or overseas and it is available twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The target turnaround time for applications submitted through the online service is ten working days plus postage. Since the launch over twelve thousand online applications for passport books and/or passport cards have been received.
The introduction of the service will result in reduced turnaround times and fewer demands over time on the Passport Offices in Dublin and Cork. The service will be extended to all applicants, including first-time applicants and children, by 2019. People who cannot or do not wish to apply online will continue to be able to apply through a service provider with an extensive network of contact points throughout the country.
The rationale for the opening of additional Passport Offices, particularly given the range of service options available to applicants, is not clear. Any office would in any case need to have the capacity to provide a rapid renewal service to applicants with urgent travel such as that available through the Passport Office in Dublin. This would require an on-site passport production machine in a specially controlled and secure environment. The purchase cost of a new passport printing machine alone would be approximately €1.7 million. This is without security, technical, fit-out, staffing and rental costs. An outreach office without production facilities could not offer a significantly faster service than the online option and it would duplicate the Passport Express service offered through local Post Offices.
I am satisfied overall that the range of service options meets the current needs of passport applicants and that the service improvements, both those recently introduced as well as those planned, will allow the Passport Service provide citizen focused services in an efficient and effective manner.
