Passport Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 October 2021

Tuesday, 5 October 2021

Ceisteanna (334)

Cormac Devlin

Ceist:

334. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his Department will amend the passport form and corresponding website information to reflect the fact that persons securing a new Irish passport can photocopy their original and have it witnessed and signed by a member of An Garda Síochána instead of surrendering their existing in-date passport which they may need for travel purposes while their new passport is being processed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47720/21]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Foreign Affairs

For the vast majority of applications, the Passport Service does not require a person to submit their current passport and this is reflected in published guidance. The requirement to submit a current passport applies only where an applicant has more than twelve months validity on their current passport in the case of an adult and six months validity in the case of a child applicant. This is an integrity measure to ensure that each citizen only holds one valid passport at any one time. In addition, the Passport Service also offers a large passport book with a ten year validity to facilitate customers who travel frequently.

The Passport Service continually examines how to improve processing times. The Passport Online service continues to offer an exceptionally quick turnaround time of 10 working days for adult renewals with almost 45% of these applications issuing within 1 business day.