Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2019
93. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the improvements being planned for the Cork passport office; his plans to add a printing facility to the Cork office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17589/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Passport Office in Cork is one of the three constituent offices that make up the Passport Service; the other offices are in Mount Street, Dublin, and Balbriggan, Co Dublin.
Improvements to the current internal office accommodation in the Passport Office in Cork are under consideration, in consultation with the Office of Public Works. Plans to expand the facilities in Balbriggan and to source temporary back-office processing accommodation in the wider Dublin area are also under consideration at present.
The Passport Service operates three passport printing machines, two of which are located in our main production facility in Balbriggan, Co. Dublin and one located in the Passport Office in Mount Street, Dublin. All applications are processed through the centralised Automated Passport Service (APS). This means that all production facilities can print a passport irrespective of what channel the application was processed. This printing system allows for flexibility between printing machines if any one machine has reached capacity.
The current three printing machines are meeting the Passport Service printing demands and have additional capacity. Each Passport Printer has a printing capacity of 250 passports per hour and the printing requirements of the Passport Office in Cork are met by the machines in Balbriggan and Mount Street, without difficulty. As the current machines are meeting and exceeding demands there are no plans to add a printing facility in the Cork office.
Overall, in response to the growing demand for Irish passports, my Department has strengthened the capacity of the Passport Service by recruiting over 80 permanent staff to respond to the general increase in passport applications. the Passport Service has also obtained sanction for the recruitment of over 230 Temporary Clerical Officers. The new staff are spread across all offices, including the Passport Office in Cork.
