Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 November 2018
86. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to reinstate the free passport for old age pensioners in view of the fact that this is a form of official identification for some pensioners that do not hold driver licences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48087/18]
View answerThe Passport Service does not provide a reduced fee to any category of adult applicant for a passport, whether for the renewal of a passport or for a first time application. A reduced fee is applied on applications for passports for minors in recognition of the fact that a minor’s passport is valid for only five years. Most adult passports will be issued for a period of ten years. I have asked my staff to review the cost of the standard ten year adult Irish passport and to compare it to the cost of a similar passport in many other jurisdictions.
I am satisfied that, at a cost of €80, which breaks down to €8 per year, the Irish passport fee compares favourably with the services offered elsewhere. For example, an adult would have to pay €8.50 per year for a British passport, €8.60 per year for a French passport, €9.70 per year for an American passport and €18.10 per year for an Australian passport.
Based on 2017 application volumes, the Passport Service has calculated the potential annual cost of eliminating the passport application fee for applicants over 65 years of age to be over €6.2m. Given that any shortfall in revenue would have to be met by the taxpayer, a decision to waive or reduce the application fee for any category of applicant would require careful consideration. It is important to ensure that the major upgrades to the passport service technology platforms and business processes as well as significant customer service improvements which have taken place in recent years can be maintained and further developed.
In the context of the services provided by the Passport Service, I would like to draw attention to the well-advanced Passport Reform Programme, one element of which is an online passport application service which was launched on 30 March 2017.
To date over 273,000 adults have renewed their passport using this online facility. At present, the online passport application service accommodates adult passport renewal applications and passport card applications. The Passport Service is in the process of expanding this service further by the end of 2018.
The online passport application service enables adults to renew their passports within ten working days without the need for paperwork or witnesses. The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from anywhere in the world. While the online service does not distinguish between applicants’ based on age, applicants can be assured that the online system will be the cheapest as well as the most efficient, secure and convenient way to apply to renew their passport.
