My Department is currently in the busiest season for passport applications, as citizens prepare for their upcoming summer travel plans. Thanks to operational and staffing plans implemented by my Department, the Passport Service is successfully responding to the current high demand, and has issued over 440,000 passports to date this year. All turnaround times are at their target level and there are no backlogs. The Customer Service Hub is responding to over 3,200 queries per day.
The total income for passport fees in 2022 was €63.592m. It has not been possible to compile the total 2023 income to date in time for the Parliamentary Question response. The Passport Service will follow up directly with the Deputy to provide this figure.