Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 November 2021
97. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the current backlog on new passport applications; the backlog on renewals; and if consideration is being given to purchasing an additional printing machine to base it in County Cork. [56268/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Passport Service has issued over half a million passports to date in 2021 and 45% of simple adult renewals issue within one business day.
The current passport processing times are:
- 10 working days for Simple Adult renewals
- 15 working days for Complex renewals
- 40 working days for First Time Applications on Passport Online
- 8 weeks for An Post’s mail-in “Passport Express” service
Passport processing times are based on current average application turnaround times and apply to passport applications that are fully complete, where all required supporting documentation has been correctly submitted to the Passport Service by the applicant. The projected passport issue date provided to applicants on the online Passport Tracker provides an indication only of the estimated issue date based on current averages and is not an intended guarantee of service.
Applications can take longer than the average turnaround time if applicants have not provided all of the required documentation to correctly complete their application. There are currently 110,000 passport applications on hand at the Passport Service. Of the online applications on hand, 34,000 or 35% of applications are incomplete and require the applicant to submit additional documents. The Passport Service engages with all applicants who have not submitted the required documentation to ensure that their application is completed correctly and can proceed through the processing system. Of the online applications that are currently with the Passport Service for processing, approximately 8% are past the estimated issue-by date. These applications are being prioritised by the Passport Service who are working very hard to eliminate these delays.
The Passport Service is currently experiencing a high demand for first time passports. Of the 110,000 passport applications currently on hand, 70,000 (63%) are first time applications. These first time applications are necessarily complex to process, since they are essentially applications for Irish citizenship. It is the statutory responsibility of the Passport Service to protect the integrity of the Irish passport. Accordingly, a rigorous analysis process is in place to verify the identity and citizenship status of applicants. In the case of first time passport applications for children, the consent of guardians must also be thoroughly validated. Due to the intensive analysis underpinning first time online passport application processing it takes 40 working days.
The Passport Service of my Department is a unified service composed of three constituent offices located in Lower Mount Street and Balbriggan in Dublin and South Mall in Cork. It operates three passport printing machines, two of which are located in the main production facility in Balbriggan and the third in the Passport Office in Lower Mount Street, Dublin.
Passport applications from citizens residing in Ireland or elsewhere in the world are distributed for processing across the three Passport Offices. All passport applications are processed through the centralised automated passport service system. All production facilities can print a passport, irrespective of the channel through which the application is processed. The printing system allows for flexibility between printing machines if any one machine has reached capacity. Each passport printer has a printing capacity of 250 passports per hour.
I am satisfied that the printing capacity of production equipment currently employed by the Passport Service is sufficient to meet demand.
