On the 29th of April, Minister for Foreign affair Simon Convey brought a memo to Cabinet to make the Passport Office an essential service. This action is thought to be necessary, as there is a backlog of over 90,000 Irish passport applications.
Only about a third of the Passport Port staff are working on-site, and have processed 430,000 passports since the start of the pandemic. It is said that when in full capacity the Passport Office can process around 120,000 passports renewals per month. This matter is of great concern to many people and Future Direct has received multiple queries from those who have been experiencing this delay in their application.
Speaking in the Dáil last week, Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond said for many “it has got nothing to do with travel” but rather “the passport is a vital piece of identification in this State”.
As we approach the end of the lockdown, many people are considering their travel plans. Therefore it's crucial that people can have a firm timeline as to when their passport can be processed. Minister Coveney pointed out that once at full capacity, “So I expect that we can clear the backlog within weeks.”
Future Direct welcomes this news and is looking forward to the confirmation of this approval. We hope that it will benefit those who have been affected.
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