Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 January 2023
371. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the total number of outstanding passport applications on hand, including incomplete applications; the number on hand for more than one, two, three, four, five, and six months; the current number of staff in the Passport Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4689/23]
View answerThanks to significant investment by the Government and the dedicated work of the Passport Service staff, substantial improvements have been made during 2022 and all passports are being issued within the advertised turnaround times.
There are currently just over 114,000 applications in the Passport Service processing system. Of these, 52,000 are fully complete applications. These applications are not considered outstanding, as they are being processed in line with normal turnaround times.
The number of complete online and postal applications submitted to the Passport Service for processing over 1 month ago is 3,909; over 2 months ago is 1,499; over 3 months ago is 666; over 4 months ago is 406; over 5 months ago is 184; and over 6 months ago is 250.
The vast majority of these relate to very complex or sensitive cases that may involve citizenship, guardianship or legal issues. These require very thorough examination by experienced staff and can take longer to process.
As per the most recent records, there are currently 763 staff assigned to the Passport Service.
Over the past few months my Department has been planning to ensure that demand for passports continues to be met in 2023 with target processing times maintained throughout the year.
Adequate staffing of the Passport Service to respond to demand continues to be a priority for my Department in 2023 and is an issue that is kept under constant review.
My Department ran 15 competitions in 2021 and 2022 to address staffing needs in the Passport Service. New office space on the Balbriggan campus is now open and provides over 200 additional workstations to accommodate the increase in staff numbers.
The focus on intensive training and upskilling of staff in 2022 has increased the resources available that can process complex applications, such as first-time child applications.
My Department is also actively working to assign new staff to the Passport Service throughout the first quarter of this year. Approximately 100 successful candidates from a Temporary Clerical Officer competition run by the Department are currently going through the Garda Vetting process and will be assigned in the coming weeks and months.
Passport Online can be used by 97% of applicants across the world, for both first time and renewal applications. The Passport Online Service is 4 times faster than paper-based applications for adult and child renewal applications.
My Department is currently rolling out a Digital First media and communications campaign for the Passport Service for 2023. The campaign aims to encourage citizens to check their passport before booking travel, and to apply for their passport online and in plenty of time. This campaign began in December, with digital, print and social media advertisements. Radio advertisements commenced this month, which will be followed by outdoor advertising in early February.
All ads will remind citizens to check the validity of their passports before booking travel. The first few weeks of the campaign have already seen a 245% increase in traffic to the Passport Service website, compared to the weeks preceding the campaign. The Passport Service also had a presence at the Holiday World Show in Dublin last weekend.
I am confident that the staffing and accommodation measures implemented, along with other improvements, will continue to have a positive impact on passport processing times for 2023.
