Written Answers Nos. 230-242
232. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will initiate discussions with the aim of establishing a passport office in the north-west in view of the previous Governments designation of Letterkenny, Derry and Strabane as a city region (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21918/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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, respectively. Passport applications from all citizens - whether at home or abroad - are distributed for processing across the three Passport Offices, on the basis of the type of application rather than county or country of residence of the applicant.
Over 90% of all passport applications, including first time applications, are now being made through Passport Online. The Passport Service is committed to continuing to offer a range of application channels, including an offline service for citizens who are not eligible or do not wish to use the Passport Online service.
Passport Online is the priority channel for applications as there are many efficiencies built into the system for both the applicant and the Passport Service. Passport Online can be accessed by all first time applicants, both children and adults, in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Europe, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the USA, South Africa, Singapore, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mauritius, Lesotho, Colombia, Panama, Chile, Peru and Ecuador. All Irish citizens, including children, can use the online system to renew their passports from anywhere in the world. The Passport Online service offers Irish citizens the ability to apply online for their passport 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is a user-friendly, efficient service that consistently offers processing times up to 4 times faster than paper-based passport renewal applications.
The paper-based, mail-in "Passport Express" service is available to citizens at almost 1,000 An Post post offices and at over 70 post office locations in Northern Ireland. With the availability of both Passport Online and Passport Express very few applicants are required to travel a significant distance in order to apply for their passport. In the relatively small number of cases where citizens need to travel urgently and do not have a valid passport, the Passport Offices in Dublin and Cork offer an Urgent Appointment service for passport renewal with a 1 or 4-day turnaround.
The Passport Service currently 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. 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 the current and anticipated future demand for passports.
In addition, the Passport Service is currently working on public education materials, including video tutorials, with a view to assisting applicants to complete their application correctly. These videos will be shared on social media and will include instructions on submitting consent forms for child applications properly. My Department has also recently updated its website, including a new Passport Service section where applicants can easily find out with documents are required for their type of application.
I am satisfied overall that the range of service options meets the current needs of passport applicants and that the service improvements, both those recently introduced as well as those planned, allow the Passport Service to provide this essential citizen service in an efficient and effective manner.
234. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will provide an update on a passport application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21942/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraWith regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service regrets the delay in processing this application. The Passport Service is prioritising the application to ensure no further delay is experienced.
235. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when a passport refund will be issued to a person (details supplied). [21943/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraWith regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has issued a refund to the applicant.
237. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will amend the passport consent form to indicate that it cannot be witnessed by a Garda in a partially manned Garda station in view of the fact that the hours of opening for the Garda station may not be the same as the hours that Passport Office staff work and this is causing delays in applications being progressed as the witness signatures cannot be verified during normal office hours; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21957/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are certain passport applications for applicants resident in Ireland that require forms to be witnessed by a member of An Garda Síochána. These applications include:
- All Passport Express applications - Section 9 Certificate of Identity
- First time adult online applications - Identity Verification Form
- First time child online applications - Child Passport Identity and Consent Form (Guardian A)
The witnessing of these forms is a vital element of the identity verification process for the Passport Service, as it provides initial assurance that the person in the photograph is the same person presenting to submit the passport application form.
In the case of an application for a minor the witnessing of this form provides evidence that guardians give consent for a passport to be issued to the child. In order to protect the integrity of the Irish passport and also the rights of parents or guardians and children, it is important that forms are correctly completed and verified by the Passport Service by calling the Garda station to confirm the Garda's signature.
It is stated in a note to the witness on the Identity and Consent forms that they may be contacted to confirm the validity of their signature. It is the responsibility of the witnessing Garda to ensure that the signature is correctly recorded in the logbook, so that when the Passport Service calls at a later date the signature can be verified.
There are cases where the Passport Service has difficulty contacting a Garda station in order to verify the Garda's signature. Whilst the Passport Service makes every effort to contact the Garda station in these cases, unfortunately, the passport application may be delayed. In some cases, the applicant may be requested to submit a new witnessed form where the Passport Service has been unable to contact the Garda station. A new document management system that was put in place at the beginning of March is ensuring that these applications which require further documents are being turned around within 15 working days of receipt of the additional documents.
The Passport Service takes its responsibility to protect the integrity of the Irish passport very seriously. The Irish passport has a strong international reputation due to the strength of the security features within the passport book and the robust processes involved in its issuance. The Irish passport was recently ranked 5th in the Henley Global Passport Index as it provides our citizens with visa-free access to 187 countries.
There are no plans at present to amend the process for the witnessing of Identity and Consent forms by An Garda Síochána.
238. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the reason that the estimated issue date on the passport tracker can be different from the live estimated issue date for applications (details supplied) and in particular for one specific application; if he plans to address the inaccuracies with the passport tracker; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21958/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe online Passport Tracker tool provides applicants with an indication of how their application is progressing through the system and gives an estimated issue date based on the current average application processing time.
The date displayed on the tracker is an estimate, and is based on the current average processing time for that type of application. For a small number of applications currently in the Passport Service system, the issue by date displayed on the tracker differs from the issue by date on the Passport Service internal processing system by one to three days. The cause of this issue has been identified by the Passport Service and they are working to rectify it.
The Passport Service regrets any inconvenience caused to applicants who have been affected. The Passport Service has contacted the applicant referred to by the Deputy and provided a status update on their passport application.
239. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is will meet with an organisation (details supplied) in relation to the Irish Language Act in the Northern Ireland. [21974/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraOfficials from my Department have been in contact with Conradh na Gaeilge to offer a meeting to hear Conradh’s perspectives and concerns with respect to this important issue. The Department also met with Conradh on 8 April 2021 to discuss the implementation of the language and identity provisions of the New Decade, New Approach Agreement.
The New Decade, New Approach Agreement was a significant shared achievement, and amongst other provisions, gives effect to the recognition by all parties of the importance of respect, understanding and tolerance in relation to linguistic diversity, which in Northern Ireland includes the Irish language, Ulster-Scots and the languages of the various ethnic communities. The package of language and identity legislation that was agreed upon was detailed and balanced. As outlined in the Programme for Government, the full implementation of the Agreement is an important priority for the Government.
In the absence of progress in the Assembly, I welcome the commitment by the British Government to introduce this legislation as soon as possible in Westminster. This should be on the basis of the legislative provisions negotiated, agreed and published at the time of NDNA. I raised this issue with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC) held at the end of March, and emphasised the importance of progress on this commitment.
Officials from my Department met their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Office last week to discuss the status of the legislation and underline the need for early progress.
With respect to the Government’s commitments to support the Irish language in Northern Ireland made alongside the NDNA, these have been positively advanced. Funding of €1.2m per annum for 2021-2023 has been allocated for the development of Irish language broadcasting, and the promotion of the Irish language in Northern Ireland, which is being administered by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (D/TCAGSM). €1.2m over three years (2020-22) has been allocated to further support for the Irish language in Northern Ireland. Additional funding has also been provided to facilitate an All Island expansion of the existing Irish Language Network strategy.
240. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 717 of 26 April 2022, if will outline in detail the nature of the reciprocal agreement referred to; if his Department is providing a paid one year secondment of a first secretary to a company (details supplied); the cost of this secondment; the existing precedent for a paid secondment by a senior Departmental official to a commercial enterprise; the previous examples of secondments to the private sector paid for in the public sector from his Department; the genesis of this secondment; if the secondment arose as a result of an approach by the company to his Department, the Minister of the day or as a result of an approach by his Department or the Minister of the day to the company; if a business case for this secondment was approved by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform; if he will publish the business case for such a paid secondment to a private sector company; the rationale for doing same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21976/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Foreign Affairs agreed to assign an officer to a one-year reciprocal staff exchange with Kerry Group in July 2021. The exchange serves to enrich the skillsets, contacts and experience of personnel across public and private sectors, and supports my Department’s strategic objectives to further strengthen Ireland’s role in the global economy.
The reciprocal exchange is cost neutral based on a Memorandum of Understanding between my Department and Kerry Group. The officer seconded from my Department to Kerry Group is at First Secretary grade and remains on the payroll of my Department for the duration of the exchange. The person assigned from Kerry Group to the Department of Foreign Affairs is based in the Department’s Economic Unit and remains on the Kerry Group payroll. The Memorandum of Understanding between my Department and Kerry Group outlines the terms and conditions of the exchange, including the requirement for the Kerry Group staff member to respect all relevant Irish civil service laws and regulations.
On completion of this exchange it will be reviewed before any future decision is made.
242. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when the processing of a passport application by a person (details supplied) will be finalised; the reason for the delay in the processing of this application which was lodged in September 2021; if this passport will issue immediately; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21998/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraWith regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service regrets the delay in processing this application. The Passport Service is prioritising the application so that no further delay is experienced. The Passport Service has contacted the applicant's parent directly to advise of this.
