More than 25,000 passport applications have been with the Passport Service for longer than three months because they “require action from the applicant”, Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said.
A further 319 “complex or sensitive” passport application cases have been with the service for more than three months and involve citizenship, guardianship or legal issues.
Mr Martin told Sinn Féin foreign affairs spokesman Matt Carthy that 169 such applications are with the Passport Service for more than three months, 85 for more than six months, and 65 for more than 12 months.
These complex cases “require thorough examination by experienced staff and can take longer to process”, he said. “There are often multiple interactions” with the applicant or their guardians, as well as with other Government departments and agencies on occasion.
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The Tánaiste said more than 625,000 passports have been issued this year, and the service is well-staffed to meet the current level of demand, with no current backlog.
He said, of the 25,000 applications in the system for more than three months, that applicants may still have to submit supporting documentation to complete their application. “The Passport Service issues more than 2,500 emails per week to remind applicants to submit their documents.”
Mr Carthy, who praised the Passport Service, said that there were, however, some problem areas that needed to be streamlined. He was concerned with cases where “an honest mistake is made. It usually relates to either a photograph or a wrong date being put on a submission relating to verification of a child’s identity”.
When that happens, it appears “the application goes to the back of the queue” and “that is deeply unfair because in many instances people will have submitted in good time for whatever travel plans they have”.
Mr Martin said a system is in place so that “applications do not go to the back of the queue”, and when additional documentation is provided the application is prioritised.
He stressed that the integrity of the Irish passport “cannot be taken lightly” in relation to incorrect dates, photographs, and verification of identity by An Garda Síochána “which is a vital element of the identity verification process”.
He said that if a new photo is requested, once it is received the application is processed within a maximum of 10 days. “All other requests for further documents are processed within 15 working days of receipt of the additional documents for both paper and online applications.”
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