Customer Service at the Passport Office
The Passport Offices of the Department of Foreign Affairs are committed to delivering a customer focused and secure passport service that meets the needs of Irish citizens. To that end, the development of the passport service is kept under continuous review.
The Customer Service Action Plan for the whole Department of
Foreign Affairs is available here (PDF 226kb).
If you have any comments about the service you received from the
Passport Office, please write to:
Customer Service Manager
Passport Office
Department of Foreign Affairs
Molesworth Street
Dublin 2
Contacting the Passport Office
Dublin
Enquiries -Tel. 01 671 1633 or LoCall 1890 426 888. Fax 01 671
1092
Enquiries -If telephoning from Northern Ireland - LoCall 0845
8504321
24-hour Recorded information Service - Lo Call 1890 426 800 or 01
679 7600.
To email
PPO Dublin, please click this link.
Cork
Enquiries -Tel. 021 4944 700 or LoCall
1890 426 900. Fax 021 4275770
24-hour Recorded information Service - Lo Call 1890 426 800
To email
PPO Cork, please click this link.
Services
People entitled to Irish citizenship and residing in the State can apply for passports through the “Passport Express” service, available at over a thousand post offices throughout the country, which display the ServicePlus logo of An Post.
Post Office staff ensure that requirements in the Checklist section of the application form have been adhered to, collect the passport fee on behalf of the Passport Office and their own administration charge and forward the application to the relevant Passport Office by “Swiftpost”. A similar express type service is available at more than 70 Post Office branches in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The Passport Express is recommended by the Passport Office.
Applications can also be sent by ordinary post or made in person at the Passport Offices or, outside Ireland, to the Irish Embassy/Consulate in the country where the applicant resides. The Passport Offices in Ireland are open to the public Monday to Friday from 09.30 to 16.30.
Service standards
The present standards which the Passport Offices are committed to maintain are:
Quality Service Standards
Publish a statement that
outlines the nature and quality of service which customers can
expect and display it prominently at the point of service delivery.
Equality/Diversity
Ensure the rights of equal treatment
established by equality legislation and accommodate diversity, so
as to contribute to equality for the groups covered by the equality
legislation (under the grounds of gender, marital status, family
status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race
and membership of the Traveller Community).
Identify and work to eliminate barriers to access to services for people experiencing poverty and social exclusion and for those facing geographic barriers to services.
Physical Access
Provide clean, accessible public
offices that ensure privacy, comply with occupational and safety
standards and, as part of this, facilitate access for people with
disabilities and others with specific needs.
Information
Take a proactive approach in providing
information that is clear, timely and accurate, is available at all
points of contact, and meets the requirements of people with
special needs. Ensure that the potential offered by Information
Technology is fully availed of and that the Information available
on public services websites follows the guidelines on web
publication.
Continue the drive for simplification of rules, regulations, forms, information leaflets and procedures.
Timelines and Courtesy
Deliver quality services with
courtesy, sensitivity and the minimum delay, fostering a climate of
mutual respect between provider and customer.
Give contact names in all communications to ensure ease of ongoing transactions.
Complaints
Provide a well-publicised, accessible,
transparent and simple-to-use system for dealing with complaints
about the quality of service provided.
Appeals
Maintain a formal, well-publicised,
accessible, transparent and simple-to-use system of appeal/review
for customers who are dissatisfied with decisions in relation to
complaints about service.
Consultation and Evaluation
Provide a structured
approach to meaningful consultation with, and participation by, the
customer in relation to the development, delivery and review of
services. Ensure meaningful evaluation of service delivery.
Choice
Provide choice, where feasible, in service
delivery including payment methods, location of contact points,
opening hours and delivery times. Use available and developing
technologies to ensure maximum access and choice and quality of
delivery.
Official Languages Equality
Provide quality service
through Irish and/or bilingually and inform customers of their
right to choose to be dealt with through one or other of the
official languages.
Better Co-ordination
Foster a more co-ordinated and
integrated approach to delivery of public services.
Internal Customer
Ensure staff are recognised as
internal customers and that they are properly supported and
consulted with regard to service delivery issues.
Further improvements
In October 2006 the Passport Office began issuing the new Irish electronic passport (ePassport). The introduction of the ePassport is a further demonstration of the Government's commitment to the safety and security of Irish travellers, building on the protections introduced in the new passport system in 2004. In addition, under the US visa waiver scheme, participating countries, including Ireland, must be issuing ePassports from 26 October 2006.
Complaints and redress
The Passport Offices are ready to address complaints they receive from customers who are dissatisfied with the quality of service or the way in which it is delivered by them or by an Embassy or Consulate abroad. Any complaint should be made in the first instance to a local supervisor. If the person concerned is not satisfied and wishes to make a formal written complaint he or she may do so by writing to the Customer Service Officer, Passport Office, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 [or by email through this link].
