Passport application delays

For children, the school secretary is a very handy person to sign the form. She will know the child and have no problem in signing it. She can't work from home so will have a work phone to be contacted on. :rolleyes:
 
Groucho said:
Today's (London) Times mentions a current backlog of 500,000 passports in the UK! So the problem is not unique to Ireland - although I know that's not much consolation for the people who are waiting.
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But uk has 14 times irelands population so that would equate to a 40k backlog if dealing with irish population. However passport office has 195k backlog almost 5 times the pro rata uk figures
 
Leo said:
Nothing dark ages about it. Being able to confirm a witness is who they say they are is an important part of the security process involved in issuing a passport. Being able to confirm the landline is useful to that process. Having a redirected landline, physical or VOIP is perfectly acceptable.


Are you honestly comparing the security requirements of opening a bank account with the issuing of a passport?
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Yes. How different is it with the only exception being the use of a photograph to verify ID? After all, you don't need a human to check your passport once it is issued, that can (and is) often done automatically at many airports around the world. My arguement is that the process, as it stands, where applications are "verified" by a person who is never checked (in my case, I have legitimately signed at least 10 forms over the years and no one has even contacted me to confirm it) is totally open to abuse and is probably being abused.

We're stuck in the dark ages here and I'm delighted to see that the Govt has recognised that and stated that the form is to be reviewed.
 
Leo said:
And in those cases I presume that witness was prosecuted on discovery, and likely lost their jobs as a result of a criminal conviction. Up to 10 years in jail for supplying false information on a passport application.
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I've never said they signed the form illegally, my point that I am trying and seemingly failing to make, is that someone is entitled to sign a form because of their percieved role in life and they are deemed "more honest" then an ordinary Joe Soap.

Let me put it another way, Mick Wallace is considered an appropriate person to witness such a form, Charlie Haughy was, Ray Bourke was, Fr Tony Walsh was.
 
joe sod said:
But uk has 14 times irelands population so that would equate to a 40k backlog if dealing with irish population. However passport office has 195k backlog almost 5 times the pro rata uk figures
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Fallacious. You're assuming there that all of the applicants are Irish residents However a significant proportion of them aren't, which is part of the problem.
 
A huge issue is the number of errors on applications.
My cousin works in DFA and she said that some people skip over questions as if they didn't matter and the number is in the multiple of thousands.

Some forget to send photos, some don't get the photos signed, some don't get Garda signature.

It's as if they think the questions are optional. Then they blame someone else.

But there has to be a better way - even having a dedicated passport Garda on set hours in primary Garda stations who also checks all parts are filled.
 
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peemac said:
A huge issue is the number of errors on applications.
My cousin works in DFA and she said that some people skip over questions as if they didn't matter and the number is in the multiple of thousands.

Some forget to send photos, some don't get the photos signed, some don't get Garda signature.

It's as if they think the questions are optional. Then they blame someone else.

But there has to be a better way - even having a dedicated passport Garda on set hours in primary Garda stations who also checks all parts are filled.
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I agree that customers need to take greater care. But not all the errors are the exclusive fault of the applicants.

Moreover, some errors are compounded by the poor systems in the Passport Office.

A Garda witness error in my application was not notified to me for months and when I eventually got through to them over the phone (a near impossible task) to establish the cause of the delay, it was only then that the error was identified to me. The online tracking system didn’t identify the error and simply stated for months that my application was “being processed”. I should have received an error notification email when it was first identified but alas, I didn’t.

Having rectified that error, the submitted photo - which had been approved by their online system - turned out to be unacceptable as their own system cropped the top of the photo such as to render it unacceptable.

I’m now awaiting a resubmission link to be emailed to me for nearly two weeks, despite being advised that I could expect it within 5 working days.

It looks like we will have to travel to Dublin from the west and make an emergency travel appointment to be sure we can travel abroad during the summer. The application was first submitted on 4 January.
 
Johnno75 said:
I agree that customers need to take greater care. But not all the errors are the exclusive fault of the applicants.

Moreover, some errors are compounded by the poor systems in the Passport Office.

A Garda witness error in my application was not notified to me for months and when I eventually got through to them over the phone (a near impossible task) to establish the cause of the delay, it was only then that the error was identified to me. The online tracking system didn’t identify the error and simply stated for months that my application was “being processed”. I should have received an error notification email when it was first identified but alas, I didn’t.

Having rectified that error, the submitted photo - which had been approved by their online system - turned out to be unacceptable as their own system cropped the top of the photo such as to render it unacceptable.

I’m now awaiting a resubmission link to be emailed to me for nearly two weeks, despite being advised that I could expect it within 5 working days.

It looks like we will have to travel to Dublin from the west and make an emergency travel appointment to be sure we can travel abroad during the summer. The application was first submitted on 4 January.
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That sounds like the kind of unacceptable customer service that Michael Ring was (rightly) critical of on Morning Ireland yesterday. If you've the time, why not complain to the Ombudsman about your experience? That way, the DFA will be called to account over it, rather than it simply disappearing into the ether.
 
Groucho said:
That sounds like the kind of unacceptable customer service that Michael Ring was (rightly) critical of on Morning Ireland yesterday. If you've the time, why not complain to the Ombudsman about your experience? That way, the DFA will be called to account over it, rather than it simply disappearing into the ether.
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Thanks @Groucho , I might just do that. The priority is to get the darned passport though.

I get annoyed with media reports that “it’s all the customer’s fault”, and “we process all correct applications in x days” when the applications with errors remain unprocessed for months.
 
Johnno75 said:
Thanks @Groucho , I might just do that. The priority is to get the darned passport though.

I get annoyed with media reports that “it’s all the customer’s fault”, and “we process all correct applications in x days” when the applications with errors remain unprocessed for months.
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If you apply online you are forced to fill in all relevant boxes. And then you get your passport 2-3 DAYS later.

The issue is first time passports that require extra scrutiny and not enough staff there to check them in a timely manner.

Then those with errors (literally tens of thousands) have to be processed back to the sender for rectification and then returned back.

So a combination of more staff and some way of scrutinising the application locally would get rid of the backlog.

Hence using key Garda stations with a couple of specific gardai or DFA officials at specific hours to deal comprehensively with first passport queries and checking and stamped as such, may be one option.
 
peemac said:
If you apply online you are forced to fill in all relevant boxes. And then you get your passport 2-3 DAYS later.

The issue is first time passports that require extra scrutiny and not enough staff there to check them in a timely manner.

Then those with errors (literally tens of thousands) have to be processed back to the sender for rectification and then returned back.

So a combination of more staff and some way of scrutinising the application locally would get rid of the backlog.

Hence using key Garda stations with a couple of specific gardai or DFA officials at specific hours to deal comprehensively with first passport queries and checking and stamped as such, may be one option.
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I did apply online. Daughter’s renewal (she’s a minor). “Complex” application apparently.

In fairness my own application recently took 48 hours. But I can’t leave my 7 year old at home while we go abroad.
 
Groucho said:
Fallacious. You're assuming there that all of the applicants are Irish residents However a significant proportion of them aren't, which is part of the problem.
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It's not "fallacious" how can you say that, at most only 10% are new applicants from NI and UK and those are from 2019 figures when the Brexit factor would have been at it's peak, if anything those applicants would have dropped substantially by now as Brexit is nearly 2 years ago now. You have also forgot about the UK overseas applicants for UK passports, sure isn't there a million UK expats in Spain and Portugal alone not to mention the rest of Europe, Australia and Canada, almost all applying for UK passports for their foreign born children
 
Peanuts20 said:
I've never said they signed the form illegally, my point that I am trying and seemingly failing to make, is that someone is entitled to sign a form because of their percieved role in life and they are deemed "more honest" then an ordinary Joe Soap.
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So point to where someone has willingly risked 10 year for supplying false information?

Where is anyone saying these professions are honest? Is it not more a case that people in these professions have more to loose from a criminal conviction and the prospect of 10 years in jail?
 
Peanuts20 said:
Let me put it another way, Mick Wallace is considered an appropriate person to witness such a form, Charlie Haughy was, Ray Bourke was, Fr Tony Walsh was.
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So what? It's witnessing we're talking about, not character references, and somebody has to do it. Wallace for example is in an ideal position to know plenty of people, as were all the others in their time.
 
Johnno75 said:
I agree that customers need to take greater care. But not all the errors are the exclusive fault of the applicants.

Moreover, some errors are compounded by the poor systems in the Passport Office.

A Garda witness error in my application was not notified to me for months and when I eventually got through to them over the phone (a near impossible task) to establish the cause of the delay, it was only then that the error was identified to me. The online tracking system didn’t identify the error and simply stated for months that my application was “being processed”. I should have received an error notification email when it was first identified but alas, I didn’t.

Having rectified that error, the submitted photo - which had been approved by their online system - turned out to be unacceptable as their own system cropped the top of the photo such as to render it unacceptable.

I’m now awaiting a resubmission link to be emailed to me for nearly two weeks, despite being advised that I could expect it within 5 working days.

It looks like we will have to travel to Dublin from the west and make an emergency travel appointment to be sure we can travel abroad during the summer. The application was first submitted on 4 January.
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Panic over.

After being informed that my child’s photo did not meet the requirements and whilst awaiting a link for resubmission of the photo, the passport arrived yesterday.

(Someone in there must have re-reviewed the application and decided that the photo was in fact ok.)
 
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