THE DELAYS in getting passports renewed has prompted calls for a local passport office to be established in Donegal to serve the wider north west area.
With 200,000 experiencing delays nationally Cllr Michael McMahaon described the situation as a fiasco this week.
The Sinn Féin councillor put forward a motion at Donegal County Council’s monthly meeting asking the local authority to write to the Department of Foreign Affairs proposing the opening of a regional office in the county.
He said while he was not criticising the workers at the passport office he called on the regulator to intervene to deal with the backlog. He said people are spending hours on the phone on hold trying to get answers.
Cllr McMahon also took the opportunity to appeal to people to ensure that their passport is in order before booking a holiday.
“I think it is time we look seriously at this. I think the regulator should be in charge of it,” he said.
“I would suggest that we bring this into Donegal where we could cater for Sligo, Leitrim, Fermanagh and Derry. It is about time that the department takes stock of what is happening.”
He said it is not good enough after two and a half years of lockdown when people want to travel to see relatives or take a holiday.
“How the passport office got into this situation I will never know. It’s an unbelievable situation,” he said.
“It is totally unacceptable in this day and age.”
The motion was seconded by Cllr Liam Doherty who said an office in the north west would take the pressure off Dublin.
“There is no councillor or TD in Donegal that hasn’t made some representation for people for passport renewals. This is causing families stress.”
It was agreed that the Council will write to the Department of Foreign Affairs about the proposal.
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