I raise the issue of passports again. I know there are plans in place to address the backlog but right now thousands of people are waiting for passports. Many of our constituency offices are turning into passport offices so what immediate measures are being taken? Is there a way extra staff can be seconded into the Passport Office on a temporary basis? There are promises for two and three months from now but people are losing money right now that they can ill-afford to lose. They have paid for flight tickets but cannot use them because they have not had a passport service.

The fundamental point about passports is the exponential growth in applications and the number being issued. I will come back to the Deputy but I believe 1.7 million passports will be issued this year. There were 634,000 issued in 2021, despite Covid-19 restrictions. A total of 45% of online adult renewals are processed within one working day while 99% of online applications for renewals for children are issued within 15 working days. First-time applications take longer to process, and so forth.

As of 31 January, the number of passport service staff increased by 300 from June last year, which is a very significant increase. We will bring in additional staff in the coming months to bring the number of staff to in excess of 900. This week the capacity of passport servicing in public offices increased in Dublin and Cork significantly. I take the Deputy's point but the numbers are expanding.