Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2017
542. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on the increased number of applications post Brexit from persons born and living in the UK; the resources put in place to deal with the increased number of applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38955/17]
View answerThe number of passport applications received so far this year from applicants living in Northern Ireland has increased by 33%, with applications from the rest of UK up by 40% on the same period last year. To respond to seasonal spike in demand and the general increase in applications, a total of 230 Temporary Clerical Officers were recruited into the Passport Service this year. These officers are assisting permanent staff with passport entitlement checking and customer care, including by responding to queries received via phone calls, emails and social media. Temporary Clerical Officers in the Passport Service are typically hired on twenty-six week contracts and most of these initial contracts were extended during the year for a further period of six to eight weeks. In addition, a number of permanent staff were also recruited and are assigned to the Passport Service.
The Passport Service launched an Online Passport Renewal Service on 30 March 2017, through which adult citizens resident anywhere in the world can renew their passports quickly, securely and efficiently. This online renewal service already accounts for almost 20% of total applications, and the associated efficiency gains have increased capacity to deal with high volumes of applications in all categories. The Embassy of Ireland in London is actively engaged in promoting the online service to Irish citizens renewing their passport in the region. I urge all Deputies to encourage adults who are renewing their passports to do so online. The turnaround time for online renewals is just ten working days plus postage time.
Further, I urge all Deputies to encourage citizens to register for the free passport renewal reminder email service provided by my Department at the following web address: https://www.eforms.gov.ie/en/reminder/passport/.
The Passport Service will continue to closely monitor the situation to ensure the effective deployment of staff resources so as to minimise the impact on processing times of increased numbers of applications from persons living in the UK. The need for additional resources will be kept under review.
