Passport Services

Wednesday, 1 July 2026

Questions (83)

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

83. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total cost incurred by the Passport Service in the development, procurement, implementation, and operation of the new IT system, Turas, broken down by year and by category of spend, including development, procurement, software licensing, staff training, and ongoing operational and maintenance costs; whether an element of this work was carried out by external contractors or consultants and, if so, the cost of same; and if she will provide a direct answer to the cost question asked, in tabular form (details supplied). [49993/26]

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Written answers

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

Turas is the new core processing system used by the Passport Service. The first phase of the new system was launched successfully in December 2025, with further upgrades taking place to date. The system is highly complex and designed specifically for the Irish passport service. The new system allows for better efficiencies in the processing of passports, while protecting the integrity and security of the Irish passport.

To date, the new passport processing system, turas, has cost of €9.15 million. These costs are in line with the contract to deliver the new system, which was signed on 10 June 2024. The project is phased and will incur additional costs as additional functionality and integrations with other systems are delivered. Turas is one system being developed as part of the wider Passport Reform Programme, with all planned works due to be completed in Q3 2027.

Due to the nature of turas as the core system of the passport service much of the work carried out is done so to facilitate the interoperability of all systems across the complex technical architecture of the service. As a result it is not possible to look at turas in isolation with regard to operational, training and other costs that may be incurred across the service.