Gary Gannon
Question:383. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he is taking to address the delays in processing the registration of foreign births; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6514/22]
View answerTuesday, 8 February 2022
Questions (383)
Written answers
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, and the subsequent reassignment of Foreign Birth Registration staff to assist in the provision of essential passport services, the Foreign Birth Registration Service had to be paused for nearly 15 months during 2020-2021.
The processing of Foreign Birth Registration has resumed and will be gradually scaling up in line with the recruitment of additional resources. Given the complex nature of the Foreign Birth Registration process, the large increase in applications received following the Brexit vote in the UK and the long pause in the service due to necessary Covid-19 restrictions, applicants should allow approximately 2 years from the receipt of supporting documentation for processing of Foreign Birth Registration applications at this time.
There are currently 32,000 applications for which documentation has been received, and which are awaiting processing. In 2021, over 7,000 Foreign Birth Registration applications were processed. 825 applications were processed in January 2022. Foreign Birth Registration staff also continue to provide an emergency service for Foreign Birth Registration in cases of exceptional urgency, such as expectant parents, or stateless persons. Applicants who require an emergency service may contact the Passport Service directly.
My Department is fully committed to the continued allocation of additional resources over the coming period to assist with the processing of the Foreign Birth Registration applications currently on hand and the high volume of new applications anticipated this year. The Department is actively working with the Public Appointments Service on a major recruitment drive that has been underway for several months. Since June of 2021, over 300 members of staff at all grades have been assigned to the Passport Service. Additional staff are being assigned on a weekly basis with a goal of reaching staff numbers of 900 in the coming months. This represents a doubling of staff numbers since June 2021.
I am confident that the additional staff currently being assigned to the Passport Service will help to reduce turnaround times and to respond to the current and anticipated high demand for passports and Foreign Birth Registration this year.
In the context of the National Development Plan, my Department is making a major investment in the future of the Passport Service. Over the next couple of years, we will replace the core technology underpinning the service, which will deliver efficiencies and a more resilient passport and Foreign Birth Registration system. Budget 2022 also included an investment of an additional €10m in passport services in response to the increasing demand for passports and Foreign Birth Registration.