Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 November 2021
244. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the reason a passport application (details supplied) was with the passport office for 65 working days before it was checked; the reason the applicants’ parents are now being informed it will be over five and half months to process this first-time application; if the passport will be returned as they require it for travel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58056/21]
View answerWith regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has provided an update on the status of the passport application to the applicant's parent. The parent's passport has been returned as requested
The passport processing times apply to passport applications that are fully complete, where all required supporting documentation has been correctly submitted to the Passport Service by the applicant. Applications can take longer than the average turnaround time if applicants have not provided all of the required documentation to correctly complete their application.
The Passport Service is attaching particular priority to the nearly 7% of online applications that have not been issued on or before the estimated issue date that was indicated to the applicant. Intensive work is underway to eliminate this problem and these delays are regretted very much by the Service.
