Passports backlog 'now at 70,000'

There are reports that the backlog in passport applications now stands at 70,000.

Fine Gael spokesman for Foreign Affairs Billy Timmins is calling for the ban on employment of temporary workers in the Passport Office to be lifted.

Over 4,000 people are applying for a new passport on a daily basis, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

A dispute at the Passport office at the end of March saw daily queues as staff escalated their industrial action.