Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 October 2021
335. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when the passport office will recommence the processing of postal applications; the number of postal applications that are currently waiting to be processed; the estimated timeframe for this backlog to be cleared; the processing times for postal applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47772/21]
View answerThe Passport Service currently has approximately 14,000 paper passport applications on hand of which 92% (13,035) are applications that have been sent through the post via the Passport Express Service. Of the 130,000 total passport applications currently on hand at the Passport Service, just 11% of these are paper passport applications.
Over 450,000 passports and passport cards have been issued to date in 2021. Almost 45% of passports for simple adult renewals continue to issue within one business day.
The processing of Passport Express applications resumed in July 2021. The current turnaround time for Passport Express applications that are completed correctly is 8 weeks.
Adequate staffing of the Passport Service to respond to demand remains a priority for my Department and is an issue that is kept under constant review. My Department is working closely with the Public Appointments Service to recruit additional staff to meet the current and forecasted demand for passports in the coming period. The Public Appointments Service has recently assigned Temporary Clerical Officers to augment the Passport Service and more will be assigned in the coming weeks in line with the planned relaxation of social distancing measures. The Passport Service expects to see a reduction in passport processing times once additional staff have been assigned and trained.
