Demand is higher than ever before. More than 550,000 passports have been processed so far this year. That is getting close to the 634,000 issued in all of last year.
According to Fianna Fáil's Éamon Ó Cuív, someone in Galway got their passport back with the wrong name on it. Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, tweeted that 21,000 passports were printed and issued across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week, an average of 7,000 a day."Staff are working flat out to deliver for the public," he said.
"My understanding is that staff in the Passport Office will make three attempts to contact a garda on behalf of an applicant. If they fail to make contact, the application then has to be issued with a new link and a new consent form must be submitted." This, he said, adds three to four weeks to the processing time,"which seems like a complete waste of time and resources".
TDs like Deputy Flanagan, who is chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs, suggested the North West would be a perfect location for a new office to add to those in Dublin and Cork.
MaryERegan Should look at how productive the staff are.
MaryERegan This is of course bullshit. The passport office is trying to pretend it's vast incompetence is not to blame. LOL.
MaryERegan First it was that their application’s were filled out wrong now it’s because they waited too long to fill them out. This sticks of desperation and clutching of straws. I wonder Simon, could it be that you have under resourced the staff because some idiot advised you to do it.
MaryERegan Trying to make people holiday in Ireland Problem is you need 20 grand to go to kerry for a week 🙄
MaryERegan No one has been brought to book over them shutting down for over a year. I had to get a British passport to travel through an airport with roadblocks and guards on overtime swanning around. First fight breaks out not a guard in sight. Probably overtime finished
MaryERegan Post covid 🤣
MaryERegan This has already happened in Canada. Long queues for passports and our media has reported on the new side-hustle of standing in line for other people in exchange for cash.
MaryERegan When did “post covid” happen? 70 people died here of Covid this week.
MaryERegan Great article. Not one mention though of not one passport being produced in 15 months out of a 24 month period. Not one. These guys, sat at home, could not produce one passport...
MaryERegan “Post Covid” what the actual fuck.
MaryERegan 'Post-Covid? When is that? Would love to know. Répondez s'il vous plaît.
MaryERegan Got a renewal in a week...they're not doing too bad
MaryERegan Um, *post*-Covid?!?
MaryERegan All planned delays to stop people travelling for another year until you won’t be allowed because of your lack of carbon credits.