Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 November 2023
148. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if there is a viable method to establish a same-day passport service in Cork county/city, mirroring the existing service accessibility found in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50454/23]
View answerThe Passport Online service offers citizens the ability to apply online for their passport 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This award-winning service has allowed for the centralisation of passport processing and has resulted in greater efficiencies for our citizens and for the Passport Service. Passport Online is a user-friendly, efficient service that consistently offers processing times up to 4 times faster than paper-based passport renewal applications.
Over 90% of all passport applications are made through Passport Online which is now available to 99.9% of all applicants globally.
The public offices of the Passport Service in Dublin 2 and in Cork operate a four day Urgent Appointment service for renewal applications. Throughout the year, an average of only 24% of appointments available in Cork are booked. The Dublin office also offers a one-day Urgent Appointment service. However only 0.7% of all applicants avail of this service.
The Passport Service estimates the initial capital cost of purchasing and installing a new printer and mailing machine in Cork to be approximately €6 million. In addition to the capital investment, the annual cost of running and maintaining these machines in Cork is estimated to be €600,000 per year.
For these reasons, the Department would need to seriously consider whether a business case can be made to invest this level of funds to facilitate the very small proportion of applicants who wish to have their passport renewed within one day in Cork.
I am satisfied that the current Passport Online service and production capacity meets the needs of passport applicants. The Passport Service will continue to consider ways in which to enhance this essential citizen service.
