Breathnach warns on passport delays before holidays

LOCAL TD Declan Breathnach has warned people to check their passports if they are planning to go on holidays, due to delays in the processing of passports.

He claimed that the information coming from the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Department’s website regarding the turnaround times for processing of passports is untrue. The Minister has said in an answer to a Parliamentary Question and again in the Dáil that the processing time for Passport Express renewal application is 16 days, whereas I have been dealing with queries on behalf of constituents where the waiting time has been five to six weeks.

‘ The Minister in the Dáil has blamed the recent bad weather on the problems within the system, however, from the queries coming through my office, this seems to be an on-going problem.”

He said that in reply to his parrliamentry Question, he was told that there are currently 66,000 passport applications in the system being processed, and that the applications are up 7% from the same time last year and that over 20 permanent staff have been recruited into the Passport Service to deal with the increase in applications.

While the on-line application service offers much shorter turnaround time than An Post Passport Express, it only accommodates adult renewals and passport card applications, and he advised people with travel plans to check that their passport is in date.