Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 July 2022
425. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the current average waiting time for the processing of foreign birth registrations; his plans to address delays and backlogs due to Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39512/22]
View answerDue to the complex nature of the Foreign Birth Registration process, the large increase in applications received following the Brexit vote in the UK, and the 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 FBR applications at this time.
Arising from Covid-19 restrictions, and the subsequent reassignment of FBR staff to assist in the provision of essential passport services, the Foreign Birth Registration Service was paused for nearly 15 months across the 2020-2021 period.
The processing of Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) resumed in November 2021. FBR staff have since processed over 7,500 FBR applications while also continuing to provide support to passport services due to the unprecedented levels of passport demand.
The FBR Service provides an emergency service for Foreign Birth Registration in cases of exceptional urgency, such as expectant parents, or stateless persons. Such applicants may continue to contact the Passport Service directly. For other applications, the FBR service operates a transparent general policy of processing applications in order of receipt.
The Passport Service has been scaling up resources to deal with anticipated demand for passports and FBRs since June of last year. Over 570 staff have been assigned to the Passport Service since June 2021, including 200 who have started since May of this year.
The unprecedented level of staff currently working in the Passport Service will be maintained in the months ahead. This will allow for the reassignment of additional staff to the processing of FBR applications with the aim of significantly reducing turnaround times for these applications by the end of this year.
