Ireland has issued almost one million passports through the Passport Online service in 2023, as revealed by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.
On a daily basis, the number of issued passports was between 2,000 and 3,000.
Irish authorities have pointed out that online changes made in 2023 in the Passport Service have also eased the process for first-time applicants, in particular when applying for a child’s first passport.
According to them, most online adult renewal applications were typically processed and issued within a span of two working days.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin, praised the performance of the Customer Service Hub, noting that it addressed all calls and managed over 600,000 queries from citizens in 2023.
This hard work and commitment to public service has resulted in the Passport Service being recognised as the best customer service brand in the public sector.
Furthermore, Martin added that his department is expecting 2024 as a busy year regarding Passport Service. He also encouraged those planning to travel to ensure their passport is valid, suggesting the use of the Passport Online service for renewals or first-time applications.
In 2023, the Passport Service approved more than 36,000 Foreign Birth Registrations (FBR), which is applicable to individuals born abroad claiming Irish citizenship through descent.
Henceforth, the processing time for FBR has been reduced by 75 per cent, from over 2.5 years in 2022 to eight months in 2023, according to the Irish authorities.
Passport Online is available to first-time applicants in 175 more countries, enabling 99.9 per cent of global first-time and renewal applicants to apply online.
The Department of Foreign Affairs revealed further that the youngest applicant was only four years old, whereas the oldest one was 103 years old.
At a county level, citizens of Dublin submitted the highest number of applications, both those for renewal and the first-time applications, followed by Cork, Antrim, Galway and Kildare.
Meanwhile, at a country level, Passport Service received the highest number of applications from the United States, followed by Australia, Canada, France, and Spain.
Recently, the Passport Service ranked 18th among 150 public-facing organisations in a Customer Experience (CX) group survey. Additionally, the Customer Service Hub was shortlisted for the “Best Customer Service Team” award at the 2023 Customer Experience Awards, as announced by the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ireland.
Currently, Ireland’s passport ranks as 19th world’s most powerful passport, according to the VisaGuide.World Passport Index. Holders of this passport, among others, can travel without visa in 111 countries and also passport free in 32 countries.
In October 2023, The Irish Department of Justice launched an online platform,enabling foreigners candidates to apply online for Irish citizenship. According to Irish authorities, such a platform was developed in an effort to facilitate and make the process more accessible.
