Delays in processing Irish passport applications are leading to holiday cancellations.
Over 180,000 applications are waiting to go through the system with the Irish Travel Agents Association claiming that families are missing flights because some members have been unable to get their passports issued on time.
Sinn Féin’s leader in the Seanad has renewed calls for an Irish passport office to be opened in Northern Ireland to help with delays.
“A total of 182,000 Irish passports are waiting to be processed. This shows that a passport office in the north is much needed,” said Niall Ó Donnghaile.
“Families are losing money by missing out on holidays despite extra staff being brought in to deal with the extra applications.
“Given that the Foreign Affairs Minister has acknowledged the ‘off the charts’ applications, opening an office in the north could help alleviate some pressure from the passport office and post office workers.
“I will again be raising this campaign in the Seanad and would call on the government to engage positively, prepare and deliver for citizens.”
A call has also been made to make Irish passports cheaper after it emerged that the Passport Office has made more than €428 million over the past ten years.
Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy said: "A key issue is the Passport Office is collecting significant fees for passports, yet the system is still in chaos for so many.
“The problem is with the first-time applicants, from newly-born children and the demand as a result of Brexit, where applications require a higher level of staff input and checking.
“The investment in our passport service has not made its way into the workforce-planning aspect for delivery of service.”
Answering a question in the Dáil last week, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said over 240,000 passports have been issued from 1 January this year to 20 March, compared to 21,000 passports issued over the same period in 2021.
He added: “In recent weeks, the Passport Service has reduced the average turnaround time for first time applications from 40 working days to 35 working days. In addition, 45 percent of adult online renewal applications are processed in one working day.”
