Matt Carthy
Ceist:1. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the measures he will introduce to ensure that the issuing of passports can be expedited in urgent cases. [29060/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 15 June 2023
Ceisteanna (1)
Freagraí ó Béal (6 píosaí cainte)
What measures will be put in place to ensure passports can be issued on an expedited basis in urgent cases? Will the Minister outline more recent developments with the Passport Office?
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The passport service is successfully meeting high demand for passports and has issued more than 510,000 passports to date in 2023. All turnaround times are at their target level and more than half of all online adult renewals issue within two working days. The customer service hub is responding to an average of 15,000 queries per week.
I would like to highlight the efficiencies of the passport online service, which is by far the quickest way to apply for a passport. It is an award-winning online platform which places the Irish passport service among the most innovative in the world. Through the passport online service citizens also have the option of applying for a passport card, which is valid for travel to most EU countries as well as the UK.
The Passport Office offers an urgent appointment service in Dublin and Cork for passport renewal, with a one-day or four-day turnaround time in Dublin and a four-day turnaround time in Cork. There are almost 700 appointments available per week, which applicants can avail of using the online booking system. Due to the complex nature of first-time applications, it is not possible to process these as urgent appointments.
It is important to note that in the majority of situations where persons require an urgent appointment, their passport has expired and they only realise this close to their travel date. While every effort is made to provide a service for such circumstances, it must be done in a way that does not disrupt the service to those who have submitted in good time.
The passport service also has a dedicated team who expedite applications in cases of medical emergency or the death of a family member abroad, including for first-time applicants. Such requests are considered on a case-by-case basis and must be accompanied by sufficient supporting evidence of the emergency.
Paper applications do take longer, so there can be up to 30,000 paper applications in the system at any one time. This does lead to significantly more queries with paper applications compared with online which is much faster. It is only in cases of a life-or-death issue that a paper application for a passport can be prioritised.
I will meet representatives of the Passport Office later today. I thank the staff for their ongoing engagement with Oireachtas Members. There is broad agreement that there has been a significant improvement in the turnaround times for non-complicated renewals and even for first-time applications where there is no urgency. The Tánaiste is correct that the passport service comes at emergency cases from a very humanitarian and pragmatic point of view in terms of being able to assist. The cases I am raising are urgent cases. They may not be an emergency according to the definition but they are urgent cases in that someone has upcoming travel. The issue that has been raised relates to where an application is made in good time but where there is difficulty with documentation and it is sent back to the applicant. The applicant might respond again very quickly. The difficulty is that it can lead to a substantive delay. This has resulted in people missing their flights. It is these urgent cases where there is still a gap in the service.
I appreciate the focus of the Deputy in respect of urgent cases. The Passport Office has implemented operational and staffing plans for 2023. In general, it is meeting demand. All processing times are at their target levels. I have been told that there are no backlogs. As I said earlier, approximately half of simple adult renewals are issued within two working days. Approximately 18 competitions were run in 2021 to get staff. We have the customer service hub.
When documentation is sent back to people and applications are then resubmitted, they are not sent to the back of the queue as is commonly understood. We have 165 one-day and 250 four-day appointments available at the Passport Office in Dublin each week. There are 240 four-day appointments available at the Passport Office in Cork each week. This is one option relating to urgent cases that people can take. For a child renewal, a one-day appointment can be available and there is the four-day service. There are costs involved in this as there are for adult renewals.
There is a difference between urgent and emergency cases. I know Deputy Carthy is not speaking about emergency cases but urgent appointments. There is a service available for in-person passport renewals. If Deputy Carthy has any particular cases that could illustrate the issue for improvement, we will certainly engage with him.
I will give the example of a young woman in her early 20s who applied for her first passport. She had dealt with a number of tragedies over the previous year. She applied for a passport in January and did everything right as she saw it. The documentation was returned to her in April because the Garda who authorised the form had not filled in the logbook. This was through no fault of the applicant. The documentation was sent back and the woman who was due to travel on Monday was informed as late as last Friday of the position. I engaged with staff in the Tánaiste's office and was told there was nothing they could do. I had to email and text every person I knew in the Department and the Passport Office. In this case, there was a resolution but it was because I happened to be able to contact the right person, to whom I will be eternally grateful. I phoned the Oireachtas helpline and the Passport Office and emailed the Tánaiste's office, all to no avail. There were particular extenuating circumstances in this case, but it is not unique. I have dealt with dozens of cases, and I know other Deputies have dealt with hundreds where documents have been sent back. The applications may not be put to the back of the queue but those involved certainly experience delays as a result of having to resubmit.
They are certainly not put to the back of the queue. I want to stress this. I have been speaking to officials in recent days, and I am very clear about this. As Deputy Carthy said, the issue in the case he outlined was that the Garda did not record it. There was an issue with the Garda witness verification in that specific case. I do not have the full details. Where the passport service cannot reach a Garda station, there is a system in place whereby it contacts the relevant superintendent's office to verify the details. There is ongoing work between An Garda Síochána and the passport service. They have a very close working relationship. Training and guidance are regularly offered to gardaí on the correct completion of the required identity and consent forms. The passport service published an information advertisement in the May issue of Garda Review, An Garda Síochána's magazine, to try to assist with the process of witness and passport identity consent forms. Information leaflets containing detailed guidance have been shared.
We are consistently looking at ways to make the application process easier for people, including the enhancement of digital services. We would welcome the digitalisation of the records maintained by An Garda Síochána when witnessing applications. The general experience of the Passport Office is that issues with contacting Garda stations to verify witnesses is not a widespread phenomenon, but it can happen.