Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 May 2022
256. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of staff working in the passport offices section in his Department by grade, full-time, part-time and sections and number of staff assigned to each section. [25525/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra257. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will review the way in which the manual process of checking passport applications is conducted in view of the fact that errors are only being notified to applicants late in the process. [25526/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra258. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of representations made by each Deputy to him in respect of passport applications via the minister@DFA and HQ email addresses in 2021 and to date in 2022; and the number of phone calls to the telephone line for Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas that have been processed in 2021 and to date in 2022. [25527/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra259. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of passport applications that are currently being processed. [25528/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 256, 257, 258 and 259 together.
There are currently 705 staff in the Passport Service. Of these, 616 are full-time staff and 89 are part-time.
There are currently over 360 staff assigned to the Passport Office in Balbriggan, over 120 staff assigned to the Passport Office in Cork and over 220 staff assigned to the Passport Office in Mount St, Dublin 2. Staff can be reassigned to different sections depending on the business needs of the Passport Service. Due to these internal reassignments, as well as promotions, resignations, retirements and mobility transfers, the number of staff in any one section can be fluid.
The numbers of Passport staff by grade are outlined below in tabular form.
|
Principal Officer |
1 |
|
Counsellor |
1 |
|
Assistant Principal |
8 |
|
First Secretary |
2 |
|
Third Secretary |
3 |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
23 |
|
Executive Officer |
78 |
|
Clerical Officer |
356 |
|
Temporary Clerical Officer |
233 |
The Passport Service sets turnaround times for each type of passport application based on the average time it is taking the Passport Service to process that type of application. Processing time starts from when the Passport Service receives the required supporting documentation for the application. The turnaround times are based on fully complete and correct applications. Applications that are incomplete cannot be processed within the average turnaround times. In cases where applicants are requested to submit further supporting documents, these applications are prioritised once the additional documents are received and they are processed within 15 working days.
The Passport Service continues to examine areas to increase internal efficiencies and improve the customer experience through the Passport Reform Programme. Over the next three years, a number of internal changes and upgrades to the technology that underpins passport operations will take place. The central project of the passport reform programme is the replacement of the current processing system with new, enhanced, core technology that will bring greater resilience, agility and capacity to passport processing systems. In advance of the new processing system coming into operation, a series of enhancements will also be made to the online application system. These enhancements will aim to assist customers applying for their passports by providing them with a list of documents required specific to their application type which will assist in reducing application errors.
There were 12,464 Ministerial representations made in respect of passport applications in 2021, and 5,489 made in January-April 2022. The Passport Service does not maintain records of how many representations are made by Members of the Oireachtas.
The dedicated Oireachtas phone line in the Passport Service was set up in October 2021. The phone line handled 2,703 calls during October-December 2021. The phone line handled 6,160 calls during January-April 2022. The total number of queries handled on these calls to date in 2022 was 10,194.
There are currently 195,000 passport applications in the Passport Service system. While there is a very high volume of applications in the system, this does not represent a backlog. These applications are all being processed in the usual way, with a continuous stream of new applications and a continuous dispatch of completed passports happening every day. 61% of the applications in the system are fully complete applications being processed by the Passport Service. The other 39% are incomplete, which means the Passport Service is waiting for the applicant to submit the necessary documentation required. While the Passport Service makes every effort to contact applicants in such circumstances, their experience is that many applicants take weeks and sometimes months to send in the necessary documents.
