Delays as passport applications soar to record level

With more and more people now taking a foreign holiday, the Passport Service has been inundated, receiving the highest number of passport applications in the history of the State on one day this month.

On May 7 alone, the service received 7,000 applications and, according to Eamon Gilmore, the foreign affairs minister, that is just one factor contributing to recent processing delays.

More than 93% of passport applications are made through Passport Express, a joint venture with An Post allowing people to make their applications through post offices around the country.