Lengthy queuing times alleviated at the Passport Office

The Irish Passport Office, which is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs, issues passports to Irish citizens. Services are provided by the Passport Offices in Dublin and Cork and by Irish Diplomatic and Consular Missions overseas.

The passport office can be a very busy place, and due to space restrictions it was common for large queues to form inside and outside the office as people waited to renew their passports. The renewal process consisted of a ticketing system, with the customer’s place in the queue defined by the number on their ticket, on a first come first served basis. The lack of a pre-defined wait time, combined with last minute renewals, meant that wait times were often excessive and staff struggled to meet service demands.

ActionPoint were approached by TERMINALFOUR, a web management company, and partnered with them to deliver an innovative solution which would enable the Passport Office to offer an online booking service. The service would be similar to the National Car Test system (NCT), allowing customers to pre-book their renewal online. Customers who visit www.passportappointments.ie can book their appointment, decide what type of passport service they need and select a time and date to visit the office that fits with their schedule.  The system also tells them what hatch they will be served at.