Passports

Foreign Affairs Committee to Call in Union as Department Accuses CPSU of Blocking Recruitment and Stopping Overtime

24 March 2010

The Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee is to seek a meeting with the Civil and Public Services Union (CPSU) in an attempt to find a resolution to the current passport impasse.

The Committee met today with the Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs, David Cooney, and with the Head of the Passport Office, Joe Nugent.

Mr Cooney told Committee members that the CPSU had blocked the recruitment of fifty temporary workers who were due to be assigned to the Passport Office to deal with the annual high season demand for passports and had also instructed their members not to do overtime, as is the norm at this time of year.

He also informed the Committee that the current industrial action had led to a build up of almost 50,000 applications in the system and that the demands for passports this year is up 11%.

In order to try and accommodate those waiting in line outside the passport office, the Committee learnt that Department of Foreign Affairs is in the process of trying to source suitable alternative public office space where people could wait in more comfort and be assisted more effiently.

Committee Chairman, Dr Michael Woods TD said;
“The Department officials expressed their frustration at the actions of the CPSU Union in particular, as they are currently banning their members from doing overtime. They are also blocking the recruitment of additional staff which is both denying work to people currently unemployed and worsening the situation at the Passport Office.

The Department of Foreign Affairs have made it clear that it is only through additional staff and overtime that the current backlog in passport applications can be cleared. The Union have made their point. They have shown the important work which their members do on a daily basis and the huge disruption to public services which the withdrawal of their cooperation can cause. There is nothing to be gained from continuing to disrupt the passport service. The constitutional right of all citizens to travel must be respected.

The Committee want to hear the Union’s perspective at first hand and we are requesting that they attend a Committee meeting as soon as possible. The longer this dispute continues, the more people will suffer. I would urge ICTU to support the suspension of industrial action at the Passport Office while talks are progressing.”