I am very conscious of the need to reduce the time taken in issuing passports. Since taking office, I have given high priority to improving the capacity of the Passport Office to respond in a timely manner to the ever increasing public demand for passports.
A combination of factors has given rise to the current difficulties. The most significant of these problems are the cyclical nature of demand and difficulties in predicting levels of demand from one year to the next.
Perhaps the most important factor inhibiting accurate forward-planning is the unpredictability of the level of demand for passports. In the period 1987-91, the demand for passports was reasonably stable at around 160,000. In 1992, there was an incrase of almost 20 per cent in demand. A further increase of 5 per cent in the level of applications occurred in 1993. However, the level of increase has been exceptionally high this year. By the end of last month, the number of applications which the Passport Office had to process was up by about 32 per cent compared with the corresponding period in 1993 — in volume terms, up from 65,000 in January-April 1993 to 86,000 in January-April 1994.
There appear to be a variety of factors contributing to this increase including World Cup-related travel and a general increase in holiday bookings. We understand from the travel trade that there has been an unprecedented rise in the level of foreign holiday reservations this year. This level of increase is causing huge pressure on the Passport Office this year and every effort is being made to address the problems arising.
The staffing situation in the Passport Office is obviously crucial. I requested the Department of Finance to review the staffing structure of the office and its recommendations are being urgently implemented. These involve a substantial increase in the permanent staff from 48 to 82. Temporary staff have also been recruited for the peak season in line with the normal practice of the office.
In view of the exceptional current demand, additional measures are also being taken as a matter of urgency. These include redeployment of extra staff from other areas of my Department and evening and weekend overtime in the Passport Office.
Approximately 50 per cent of the applications currently being processed by the Passport Office are being presented by personal callers. Accommodation for the public in the main Passport Office in Molesworth Street has been greatly expanded and improved. Currently this office is dealing with up to 700 counter applications a day, with a significant reduction in the average waiting period for service compared with last year. For personal callers, passports are normally produced within two weeks; in cases of urgency, they are produced in a shorter period.
I am conscious that the average waiting period for postal applicants is considerably longer than for personal callers, although it does not come close to the 12 week period mentioned by the Deputy. As I have already said, additional steps are being taken as a matter of urgency to accelerate processing of postal applications and to help identify applications which have not yet been processed on the computer system.
In addition to the expansion of the facilities in Molesworth Street, we have opened three temporary offices in Dublin suburban areas this week. These offices are located in Blackrock, Coolock and Tallaght. They are designed to further improve the accessibility of the service and bring it closer to the public. I also envisage that the Passport Office in Cork will be expanded and upgraded to the status of a full issuing office for the Munster area by the end of 1994.
Special emphasis has also been placed on efforts to overcome the problems associated with seasonality of demand. The House will recall the introduction in 1992, and the continuation in 1993, of a special low season fee for passport applications received during the months of October and November. The campaign was well received by the public and was reasonably successful in its objective. This was an experimental initiative which I would hope to continue this year.
The Department has over the past few years also conducted a publicity campaign with the aim of encouraging people to apply for their passports in good time. As part of this campaign, the Passport Office has participated in holiday fairs in Dublin, Cork and Galway at which it has dealt with several thousand inquiries.
In addition, the Passport Office has run advertising campaigns in the national press aimed specifically at urging those intending to travel abroad to check that they have an up-to-date passport and, if not, to apply in good time.
A major upgrading of the computer system has now been completed. This is helping to improve the service to the public by enhancing our ability to track applications and increasing our capacity in information storage and retrieval.
I appreciate that some members of the public have encountered difficulties in getting through to the Passport Office by telephone. We have experienced certain technical problems with our present telephone system which is not capable of dealing with the increased number of calls currently being made to the Passport Office. We have sought and are currently examining tenders for the total replacement of our existing system with a new expanded telephone network. We envisage that the new system will be operational within a matter of weeks.
I would like, in concluding, to assure the House that it remains the objective of the Passport Office to provide a prompt, courteous and efficient service to the public. Every effort is being made to put the staffing and infrastructure in place to achieve this objective. The staff in the Passport Office are highly motivated and hard working, as acknowledged by the Deputy. I am confident that the measures which I have taken and those which are planned will lead to a significantly improved service when fully implemented. In the meantime, as I have indicated, a range of special steps are being urgently taken with a view to addressing the immediate difficulties.
