The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr. Simon Coveney T.D., today welcomed the expansion of the Online Passport Renewal Service. This expanded service permits the online renewal of children’s passports, introduces a passport card for children, and expands the cohort of adults eligible to renew online.  This expanded service means that all Irish citizens can now renew their passports online 24/7, from anywhere in the world.

The service brings significant benefits for citizens with faster turnaround times of 10 working days for all online applications, excluding postage.  In addition the cost of renewing a passport online is significantly cheaper than alternative methods, with fees for all online applications being reduced by €5 across all application types.  The expanded service is now available to all adults and children who wish to renew their passport.

Welcoming the expansion, the Tánaiste said,

“The success of the online passport renewal service was recognised just last week at the CX Impact Awards, where it won the ‘Impact in digital’ award, and was ranked as the top Irish public sector organisation in terms of customer experience for the third year in a row. It is important that the Passport Service continues to use technology in order to gain efficiencies and deliver the best possible service to the citizen.  This expanded service is an example of that and will permit all citizens, both adults and children, to renew their passports online, 24/7, from anywhere in the world.”

Full details about the Online Passport Renewal Service are available at www.dfa.ie/passportonline

Notes :

·         The expanded online service permits all Irish citizens, adults and children, to renew their passport online.

·         You will need a digital photograph, an email address and a credit/debit card to apply online.

·         To ensure the Passport Service continues to verify the identity of the child and receive the consent of guardians using the online child passport renewal service, a Child Passport Identity and Consent Form will be generated for printing and witnessing at the end of the online process.

·         A standard adult passport book online costs €75.  A standard child passport book online costs €20.  It is cheaper when you apply for a passport book and card at the same time.

·         Full details about the Online Passport Application Service are available at www.dfa.ie/passportonline

·         Photo-Me Ireland (the Group’s Irish subsidiary) is the first company licenced by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to capture and transfer digital photos as part of the online passport application. For information on photo booth locations please visit www.passportphoto.ie

·         Action Point is an award-winning supplier of custom software development and information technology support services. Clients throughout the world rely on Action Point for business process automation, mobile application development, Internet of Things functionality, legacy system redevelopment, database management solutions, managed services, 24×7 helpdesk services, data storage, cloud hosting, virtualization, business continuity, disaster recovery and Azure.

·         Absolute Graphics is a marketing, design and print company founded in 2003 and based in Bray, Co Wicklow. They have previously worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the re-design of the Passport Book and the design of the Passport Card.

·         Bearing Point is a global management and technology consultancy firm, employing 300 people in Ireland.  They have been working with the Department in implementing the Passport Reform Programme.