Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 March 2018
48. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide an update on the increased activity in passport applications; if delays are being experienced; if additional resources can be assigned to the Passport Office to deal with the increased volume of applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14215/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Ceann Comhairle has allowed Deputy McLoughlin to take Deputy Heydon's question. I presume there is no difficulty with that.
The weather caused issues for the increased activity in passport applications that owes to Brexit and so on. There is considerable demand for passports. Will the Minister outline whether additional staff are being employed?
I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to put some facts on the table, as this is an issue for many Deputies who have contacted my office.
Between 1 January and 22 March, the Passport Service received more than 222,000 applications, an increase of 7% on the same period last year, which itself saw an increase on the previous year. The service is currently processing more than 70,000 passport applications. These are going through the normal checking, processing and security stages. There is a significant security element involved.
The turnaround timeframe for a passport application will depend in the first instance on the channel through which the application is submitted. The target turnaround time for applications made via the online passport application service is ten working days plus postage time. Approximately half of online applications are currently being processed within five working days, which is well ahead of target. The award winning online service accommodates adult renewals and passport card applications and it is planned to extend this service to children and all other categories of renewals by the end of this year. Whether residing in Ireland or overseas, I urge applicants wishing to renew their passports to avail of the online passport application service where possible, as it allows us to make decisions more quickly.
The average turnaround time for renewal applications submitted through passport express, which is the postal service, is currently 14 working days, one day ahead of the target turnaround time of 15 working days. Other types of application submitted through passport express, such as first-time applications and applications to replace lost, stolen or damaged passports, take longer due to additional security checks.
In recent weeks, we have had higher than average turnaround times for some categories of application owing to high application volumes and disruption caused by adverse weather conditions and the subsequent closure of the Dublin and Cork passport offices for two days. However, the turnaround times have considerably reduced and in many cases are now shorter than the published target times.
My Department continues to monitor the level of passport demand closely to ensure that all resources are effectively deployed. Additional measures taken by the Passport Service this year include the recruitment of additional staff and the use of targeted overtime.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
I am pleased to say that over 20 permanent staff have recently joined the Passport Service's existing 322 full-time equivalent staff. Furthermore, the Passport Service has received sanction this year for 220 temporary clerical officers to be appointed to the passport offices in Dublin and Cork. The majority of these officers are already in place. Targeted overtime for the Passport Service was also sanctioned to increase processing capacity.
In managing increasing application volumes, my Department's approach has not been merely to recruit or assign additional staff, but to continue to implement service improvements in order to provide an exceptional service and minimise the impact high application volumes have on turnaround times. The passport reform programme is delivering major upgrades to the passport service technology platforms and business processes as well as significant customer service improvements. The award winning online passport application service will continue to make a major contribution to the effective management of application volumes by allowing existing resources to be more effectively deployed within the Passport Service.
I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. There have been considerable demands for passports to be issued. I welcome the online service, which was introduced recently, but people have told me that the 14-day turnaround when applying via An Post leaves their schedules tight. I appeal to everyone. People are now preparing for their holidays, so the first thing they should do is ensure that their passports are in date. Every constituency office in the country is visited by numerous people who, having already booked their holidays, are now looking for passports because a child or someone else does not have one. It is important that the Passport Service and we as public representatives send out a message so that people avoid finding out at the last moment that they cannot travel on their holidays or for events.
On behalf of Deputy Heydon, I thank the Tánaiste for the answers he has provided.
I refer the Deputy to the additional information contained in my reply.
I am more than aware of the problems that we have faced with passports in recent weeks. Passport offices were closed for processing and the machines were turned off for two days because of extreme weather conditions. We could not bring staff in - it was not safe. When the service is processing in or around 70,000 passport applications at any given time, such a closure will have a major impact. However, we are getting back on top of it. We are again ahead of the target processing times even though there was a great deal of significant disruption in recent weeks. Many Deputies contacted my office about this matter on behalf of their constituents. I hope that we were able to resolve the emergency cases and that we will be able to return to an efficiently run system after the significant interruption, which was outside our control. We have made up for that by using extra staff and overtime to get the processing times back under the targets.
I acknowledge the work done by the Tánaiste, his staff and the officials. When I dealt with them about emergency passports in the past 12 months, they were accommodating and helpful in every way. The Tánaiste referred to 70,000 applications, which is a large number. With Brexit and the current level of demand for Irish passports, staff are doing a significant amount of work. I am sure that we would all like to thank them for what they have done, their understanding and their help. It is only right and proper that we acknowledge that.
In an effort to get the process back on track, there was no bank holiday Monday for the staff in the passport offices. They were in working, trying to get the turnaround times back to where we wanted them to be under the target threshold. There is a considerable commitment to making up for the shock to the system that came with the severe weather, which resulted in the passport offices having to close for two days.
We are seeing an unprecedented number of applications. There was a significant increase last year on the year before and it looks like there will be another significant increase this year. We are gearing up to deal with that. Last year, we introduced many reforms to use technology more efficiently. More and more people are using the online system, which we will expand this year to all passport applications for children as well as adults. We are responding to increased demand and shocks to the system. I encourage everyone who is listening, including parents and families, to please check their passports early in the year so that they can get renewals when they are required instead of approaching us at the last minute and interrupting the whole system, since we must stop the process to pull out a passport for someone on an emergency basis, which slows the system down for everyone else.
