Written answer
Passport Services
29. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to urgently reform the approach to verifying the Garda witness on passport applications (details supplied) [50103/26]
Comment on this
The Passport Service is successfully responding to demand, and has issued nearly half a million passports to date this year.
A limited type of passport applications for applicants resident in Ireland are required to be witnessed by a member of An Garda Síochána.
In 2025, the Passport Service launched a new Passport Assist Service to support citizens who do not wish to use Passport Online channel and assist them to make a paper passport application. When developing Passport Assist, the Passport Service engaged with An Garda Síochána and provided training on how to ensure forms are witnessed correctly. Since its launch, the proportion of applications requiring Garda witnessing has decreased from 17% to 13%.
Applications which still require Garda witnessing are adult and child first time applications.
The witnessing of these application forms is an important element of the identity verification process, as it provides initial assurance to the Passport Service that the person in the photograph is the same person presenting to submit the form.
In these cases, the Passport Service calls the relevant station to confirm that the Garda recorded the form in the station’s logbook. Passport Service staff call the Garda station up to three times to verify the witness' signature
Where the Passport Service cannot reach the Garda station after three attempts, the relevant Superintendent’s Office can be contacted to verify the details. If the Passport Service is unable to verify the witness after these steps, a new witnessed form will be requested from the applicant.
The Passport Service is continuously looking at ways to improve the application process for applicants, including the enhancement of digital services, and would welcome the digitisation of witnessed application records maintained by An Garda Síochána.
The Passport Service will continue to maintain a close working relationship with An Garda Síochána.