Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
967. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the cause of the current delay in applications to join the foreign birth register; the steps that he is taking to address the current two-year waiting time and backlog of 39,000 applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40710/22]
View answerDue to the complex nature of the Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) 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 over 2 years from the receipt of supporting documentation for processing of FBR applications at this time.
Arising from the COVID-19 restrictions, and the subsequent reassignment of FBR staff to assist in the provision of essential passport services, the FBR Service was paused for nearly 15 months across the 2020-2021 period.
The processing of FBR applications resumed in November 2021. FBR staff have since processed over 7,600 FBR applications while also continuing to provide support to passport services due to the unprecedented levels of passport demand.
The Passport Service has been scaling up resources to deal with anticipated demand for passports and FBR applications since June of last year. A major recruitment drive, in partnership with the Public Appointments Service, has been underway over the past several months. This has seen the Passport Service take on over 500 staff since June 2021.
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 in the coming months.
