Written Answers Nos. 104-123
121. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the plans, if any, that are in place to improve and speed up the passport verification and consent process to verify the witness signature; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31234/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra128. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will prioritise current passport applicants who are currently in the system due to the inability of a Passport Office official to make contact with a member of An Garda Síochána notwithstanding the new measures which were put in place recently to deal with more effective means of communication between the two said State bodies given the stress that this delay is putting parents and guardians under as they try to navigate their way through preparations for travel for their families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31344/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 121 and 128 together.
There 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)
Child renewal applications can be witnessed by members of a wide range of professions including school teachers and secretaries, doctors and elected representatives. It is important that these witnesses are available to confirm their witnessing of consent forms when called by the Passport Service.
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.
It is the experience of the Passport Service that the current process of witness verification is generally an efficient and effective one.
Over the past number of weeks the Passport Service has worked with senior management at An Garda Síochána (AGS) to develop a system for verifying Garda witnesses on passport applications in cases where the Garda signature cannot be verified after three attempts.
Details on these applications are now forwarded by the Passport Service to Garda HQ on a daily basis. The Garda Liaison Officer will then undertake to verify the details and revert to the Passport Service within 24 hours.
This new system, which commenced last week, will assist in reducing the number of passport applications that are delayed due to a failure to make contact with AGS to verify witness details.
The Passport Service maintains a close working relationship with An Garda Síochána and regularly offers training and guidance to Gardaí on the correct completion of the required identity and consent forms.
The Passport Service has published a full-page informational advertisement in the June edition of An Garda Síochána’s magazine, the Garda Review, to assist Gardaí with the process of witnessing passport identity and consent forms. This advertisement includes the information that the details must be recorded in the Garda log book and that the Passport Service will ring the Garda station to verify all first time passport applicants’ consent and identity form details.
In addition, the Passport Service has released a helpful video guide to correctly completing the witnessed identity and consent form for children. This is available on my Department's website at www.dfa.ie/passports/consent-for-children/
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.
The Passport Service continues to consider ways in which to enhance customer experience for citizens.
122. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the measures that will be taken to address the volume of passport queries from applicants in Northern Ireland; if he intends to open a dedicated Passport Office in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31235/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra124. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of passport applications that are currently outstanding for persons in County Wicklow in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31237/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 122 and 124 together.
The Passport Service continues to see a steady, but increasing demand for passports from citizens in Northern Ireland. Out of the total number of passport applications received from January to May of this year (695,000), approximately 10% (69,000) originated in Northern Ireland.
The Passport Service 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 from anywhere in Ireland, North or South, or abroad - are distributed for processing across the three Passport Offices on the basis of the type of application rather than the place of residence of the applicant.
Over 90% of all passport applications, including first time applications, are now being made through Passport Online which is available to 97% of all applicants across the world. 87% of applicants from Northern Ireland are submitted 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. 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.
A paper-based, mail-in service is available at over 70 post office locations in Northern Ireland. With the availability of both Passport Online and the postal application channel, 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 4-day turnaround. The Dublin office also offers a 1 day turnaround which is possible due to the production capacity in that location. The Passport Service offices in Dublin and Cork have processed over 7,600 Urgent Appointments to date in 2022. These Urgent Appointment applications represents just 1% of the total 720,000 applications received by the Passport Service since January of this year.
Given the high percentage of applicants from Northern Ireland using Passport Online, I am confident that the range of service options available meets the current needs of passport applicants. Furthermore, recent service improvements allow the Passport Service to provide this essential citizen service in an efficient and effective manner. While there are no plans to open additional passport offices, the Passport Service will continue to consider ways in which to enhance customer experience for citizens.
The information requested by Deputy Brady is outlined below in tabular form. This table also breaks down the number of applications from County Wicklow which are awaiting further action from the applicant, and the number of applications from County Wicklow currently being processed by the Passport Service.
|
County |
Total number of applications in the system |
Passport Service processing |
Awaiting further action by applicant |
|
Wicklow |
2,730 |
1,735 |
995 |
