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Passport Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 April 2022

Tuesday, 5 April 2022

Questions (406)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

406. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of full-time fraud experts working in the Passport Office in each of the past three years; and the grade of staff that this staff member is normally assigned. [17711/22]

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Written answers

The Passport Service takes its responsibility to protect the integrity of the Irish passport very seriously.  The Irish passport has a strong international reputation due to the strength of the security features within the passport book and the robust processes involved in its issuance. The Irish passport was recently ranked 5th in the Henley Global Passport Index as it provides our citizens with visa-free access to 187 countries.

The Integrity Unit of the Passport Service was established in 2015 to improve all aspects of passport fraud detection and prevention. Significant resources have been invested in the Integrity Section with an increase in staff numbers and new and improved systems being put in place. A considerable investment in technology and structures has helped to improve the detection and recording of instances of fraud. These resources, along with new procedures introduced by the Passport Service, have prevented fraudulent applications from being submitted and have closed down avenues of access previously used by fraudulent applicants.

The Integrity Unit has been staffed by an average of 22 officers in the grades of Clerical Officer, Executive Officer, Higher Executive Officer and Assistant Principal over the period of March 2019 to March 2022. All officers in the Integrity Unit receive training in various types of fraud relevant to fraudulent passport applications. This training is conducted by in-house experienced officers and complimented by additional training from external experts.  Some officers concentrate on particular areas within the unit and become very proficient at uncovering certain types of fraud, which is of significant benefit to the work of the unit. In addition, Integrity Unit staff can be assigned to this critical area because of the expertise or experience they bring to their role.

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