Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
145. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of WTE staff by grade that are currently dealing with enquiries on the passport webchat service; and if this number will be increased especially for the upcoming summer peak season. [18250/23]
View answerThe busy season for passports in 2023 is underway, and demand forecasts indicate that the Passport Service will issue just under 1.1 million passports this year. The Passport Service is successfully meeting current high demand. All turnaround times are at their target level and there are no backlogs.
The Passport Service has implemented operational and staffing plans for 2023, to ensure that excellent customer service is maintained during periods of peak demand.
My Department has run 16 recruitment and promotion competitions since 2021 to fill vacancies in the Passport Service, and works closely with the Public Appointments Service (PAS) to secure new staff.
The Passport Service and the Department’s Human Resources Unit have been actively working to assign new staff to the Passport Service since the beginning of 2023. Approximately 100 successful candidates from a Temporary Clerical Officer competition run by the Department have been assigned in recent months. The Department is currently running an additional Temporary Clerical Officer competition, from which candidates will be appointed in the coming weeks.
The Passport Service Customer Service Hub, which currently comprises of 98 staff, will continue be the priority for allocation of new staff at the Passport Office in Mount Street. The Customer Service Hub officers respond to customer queries by phone and webchat as well as with enquiries related to emergency passport cases. The Customer Service Hub handled over 414,000 enquiries in 2022 and is currently handling over 14,000 customer contacts each week.
There are on average 17 full-time equivalent staff working on webchat (over the last 20 working days), with an average breakdown of 3 Executive Officers and 14 Clerical Officers or Temporary Clerical Officers. The teams have answered 11,298 webchats in the past four weeks.
