Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 May 2010
90 Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding a passport application in respect of persons (details supplied); and if he will ensure that the necessary paper work is passed to consulate officials. [18464/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraPassports for two of the persons named were sent to the Irish Consulate in San Francisco by Diplomatic Courier on 22 April, 2010 and the third passport was sent on 29 April, 2010.
91 Deputy James Reilly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding an application for a passport in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he expects that this person will have their passport in time to allow them to travel on 15 May 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18525/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraA passport application for the named person was registered with the Passport Office in Balbriggan on 14 April, 2010. As a direct result of industrial action, significant arrears of passport applications have arisen within the passport service. Every effort is being made to reduce the waiting time for applications, pending the resolution of the industrial action which is preventing the recruitment of temporary staff to address the seasonal surge in demand for passports.
Applications, other than those that are prioritised on the basis of demonstrable urgent humanitarian need, are being processed on a first come first served basis. It is presently taking up to twenty working days to process applications received through the Swiftpost system. At this rate, while I am unable to give an absolute guarantee because of the ongoing industrial action, the application in question is likely to be processed in time to allow the person concerned to collect their passport prior to travel. The Passport Service will be in contact with the person concerned in due course.
