Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has urged holidaymakers to check if their passport is valid due to high demands for applications.
TDs have said they are being inundated with requests from local constituents in a bid to expedite their passport application in time for their trip abroad.
Many parents who are applying for a passport for their child for the first time are not aware of the significant time and documentation requirements.
While it appears a staffing issue may also be adding to delays for people.
The current number of staff at the Passport Service is 774 but the Passport Service is running its own recruitment competition for Temporary Clerical Officers with a view to assigning additional staff and to maintain staffing levels throughout the year to meet the demand expected in the coming months.
It is taking 35 working days for first time applicants to get a passport online, according to Minister Coveney.
First time passport applications do take longer to process than renewal applications and there are a number of reasons for this.
First time applications are necessarily complex to process, according to Minister Coveney.
He said in many cases, they are applications for Irish citizenship.
The Passport Service must validate the true identity of the applicant and take measures to confirm the applicant’s entitlement to Irish citizenship.
He said the Department of Foreign Affairs website has been enhanced and now includes a new passport service section where applicants can easily find out what additional documents are required for their type of application.
Figures show that of the total number of applications in the system, 63% are fully complete and are being processed by the Passport Service.
But the other 37% of applications in the system are incomplete, which means the Passport Service is waiting for the applicant to submit the necessary documentation required.
The current passport processing times are:
10 working days for Simple Adult online renewals
15 working days for Complex or child online renewals
35 working days for First Time Applications on Passport Online
8 weeks for An Post’s mail-in “Passport Express” service
Responding to a number of parliamentary questions, Minister Coveney said: “I strongly urge anyone who is considering travelling overseas this year, particularly families with young children, to check the validity of their passports before booking travel and to apply for their passports online in plenty of time.
“Over 264,000 passports have been issued from 1 January to 20 March 2022, compared to 21,000 passports issued over the same period in 2021.
“The Passport Service is currently experiencing a high demand for passports.”
In recent weeks, the Passport Service has reduced the average turnaround time for first time applications from 40 working days to 35.
In addition, 45% of adult online renewal applications are processed in one working day.
Minister Coveney said the Passport Service is implementing a number of further measures that will positively impact the current turnaround times and improve customer service.
This includes actively prioritising first time applications and a new document management system which was put in place in early March.
One particular feature of the new system improves the processing time for applicants who have been asked to submit additional documents.
Once the additional documents are received, they are prioritised and where applications are complete can now be processed in 3 weeks.
A new Passport Service site in Swords, Co. Dublin opened in November 2021 and accommodates 140 staff.
Works on expansion of the Passport Service site in Balbriggan began in January 2022 and it is anticipated that this will be completed in the autumn of 2022. This will accommodate 175 staff.
