asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make special provision, in the Passport Office, to people who require a new or renewal of their passport, due to the extraordinary long delays in the Passport Office which have been compounded by the present postal dispute; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Passport Office Arrangements.
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I would like to assure the Deputy that I am personally concerned about the delays being experienced by members of the public in obtaining passports as a result of the current postal dispute.
The Passport Office processes approximately 180,000 passport applications each year. On average 30 per cent of these are issued during the months of May and June; 60 per cent of all applications are normally submitted and delivered through the postal system. As a result of the postal dispute the vast majority of these applications are being submitted and collected in person.
The very large increase in the number of persons calling to the Passport Office is causing considerable difficulties both for members of the public and for the Passport Office. To date the following measures have been taken: about 80 extra members of staff have been recruited on a temporary basis, in addition to the normal staff complement of about 40; extra overtime is being worked; the Passport Office is being opened each Saturday to facilitate the collection of passports; priority is being given to those members of the public who are travelling in the immediate future; arrangements are also in place so that members of the public may deliver their applications and/or collect their passports either in person, through a courier or by an agreed third party.
The situation is being monitored on a daily basis and we will continue to review the possibility of additional measures which might help to alleviate the current problems.