Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 May 2024
68. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 39 of 9 April 2024, the expenditure on staffing of the Passport Service in the years 2020 to date, by year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19719/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra84. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 39 of 9 April 2024, if he no longer intends to increase staffing in the Passport Service to 920, per the Minister's commitment to do so by January 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19737/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra85. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 39 of 9 April 2024, the cost associated with increasing staffing levels in the Passport Service by 10, 50 and 100 WTE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19738/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra86. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 39 of 9 April 2024, the WTE equivalent within the Passport Service, by location; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19739/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 68, 84, 85 and 86 together.
The Passport Service is successfully meeting high demand for passports and has issued over 400,000 passports this year to date.
Adequate staffing of the Passport Service to respond to demand continues to be a priority for the Department in 2024 and is an issue that is kept under constant review.
Demand for passports fluctuates year on year depending on a wide range of factors. In 2022, the Passport Service received an unprecedented number of passport applications following two years of pandemic-related travel restrictions. During that time, my Department put in place a staffing plan to meet the exceptional level of demand experienced. In 2022, for the first time in the history of the State, the Passport Service issued over 1 million passports and also succeeded in reducing the processing times for first time applicants by 50% from 40 to 20 working days.
My Department undertakes extensive advance workforce planning based on forecasted demand for passports on an annual basis. The staff requirement to meet forecasted demand for the coming year is signed off annually by the Department's Management Board. As a result of this planning the Passport Service is well-resourced to meet forecasted demand for 2024.
My Department is implementing this year's staffing plan to ensure that excellent customer service is maintained throughout periods of peak demand and is continuing to work to increase resources within the service. Table 1 below outlines the annual number of staff by grade and location from 2019 to present. The 2024 figure is correct as of 31 March 2024. The Passport Service has also assigned an additional 40 Temporary Clerical Officers to its offices in Balbriggan and Dublin 2 in April 2024. Thus the current total number of staff with the Passport Service is 840, which means that staffing levels are at 98% of the staffing target for 2024.
The payroll costs incurred by the Department in relation to staffing in the Passport Service for the years 2020 to 31 March 2024 are outlined in Table 2 below.
With regard to the Deputy's question relating to the costs associated with increasing staffing levels by 10, 50 and 100 WTE, the costs are outlined in Table 3 below. These costs are based on the salary costs associated with a Clerical Officer on the mid-point of the scale and include the employer's PRSI contribution costs. Clerical Officers currently make up 55% of the Passport Service overall staff. These costs do not include additional costs that would be incurred by an increase in staff including accommodation, utilities and equipment costs.
2024 is expected to be another busy year for the Passport Service and the Passport Service is in an excellent position to meet the demand forecasted for this year.
Table 1 - Passport Service Staff by Grade and Location 2019-Present
|
Grade |
31 Dec 2019 |
|
|
31 Dec 2020 |
|
|
31 Dec 2021 |
|
|
31 Dec 2022 |
|
|
31 Dec 2023 |
|
|
31 March 2024 |
|
|
|
PPOM* |
PPOB* |
PPOC* |
PPOM |
PPOB |
PPOC |
PPOM |
PPOB |
PPOC |
PPOM |
PPOB |
PPOC |
PPOM |
PPOB |
PPOC |
PPOM |
PPOB |
PPOC |
|
|
PO & Equiv |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
AP & Equiv |
6 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
|
AO & Equiv |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
HEO |
12 |
7 |
3 |
13 |
7 |
3 |
11 |
7 |
3 |
18 |
8 |
2 |
22 |
10 |
2 |
21 |
10 |
2 |
|
EO |
34 |
28 |
18 |
28 |
31 |
17 |
32 |
30 |
18 |
33 |
27 |
17 |
39 |
50 |
19 |
37 |
50 |
18 |
|
CO |
121 |
173 |
86 |
109 |
164 |
85 |
120 |
152 |
79 |
114 |
161 |
79 |
126 |
237 |
81 |
127 |
255 |
84 |
|
SVO |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
TCO |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
40 |
89 |
19 |
81 |
170 |
15 |
65 |
104 |
21 |
61 |
93 |
26 |
|
Total |
176 |
213 |
108 |
158 |
204 |
106 |
215 |
281 |
121 |
258 |
369 |
115 |
262 |
405 |
125 |
256 |
412 |
132 |
* PPOM = Passport Office Mount St/PPOB = Passport Office Balbriggan/PPOC = Passport Office Cork
Table 2 – Payroll Costs for Passport Service
|
Year |
Amount |
|
2020 |
€19,882,953 |
|
2021 |
€18,508,734 |
|
2022 |
€28,726,609 |
|
2023 |
€30,869,253 |
|
2024 (to 31 March) |
€8,095,909 |
Table 3 – Estimated Salary & PRSI Costs of Additional Clerical Officers
|
Number of additional Clerical Officers |
Salary & PRSI Costs |
|
10 |
€412,969 |
|
50 |
€2,064,846 |
|
100 |
€4,129,692 |
