MORE than 550 people in Donegal are among those caught up in the large backlog of passport applications, according to new figures released by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
There are currently 557 online applications from Donegal with the Passport Service, which has been experiencing a very high demand since May 2021 and is expected to continue throughout this year.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has been trying to double its workforce in the Passport Office to cope with the increased demand, with as many as 1.7 million applications expected nationally in 2022.
In light of the added pressures on the service, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney has urged people to check their passports are in date before making any travel plans.
“In the case of people planning to travel this year, whose passports are already out of date or who have children who are first-time applicants, I would encourage them to apply now online,” said Minister Coveney.
There are 100,000 online applications and 13,000 paper applications on hand with the Passport Service.
“My Department has been actively working with the Public Appointments Service to recruit additional permanent and temporary staff for assignment to the Passport Service,” said Minister Coveney.
“This recruitment drive has been underway since the last quarter of 2021 and will double the number of staff in the Passport Service from June 2021 levels.
“A significant number of additional staff are being assigned to the Passport Service throughout January, February and March. I am confident that these additional staff will help to reduce turnaround times and to respond to the current and anticipated high demand for first time and renewal passports in 2022.”
Processing time
According to the Department the current passport processing times are ten working days for simple adult online renewals; 15 working days for complex or child online renewals, forty working days for First Time Applications on Passport Online and eight weeks for An Post’s mail-in “Passport Express” service.
However, applications will take much longer if applicants do not provide all the relevant documentation. Figures from the Passport Service show that 45 per cent of current applications are incomplete.
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