Passport backlog includes more than 2,500 in Cork

Given the long waiting times, the advice for people planning to travel is to apply for their passport as early as possible. File picture: Matt Cardy/Getty Images Europe

More than 2,500 people in Cork are among those caught in the large backlog of passport applications, according to new figures released by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The Cork figure of 2,591 is second only to the 6,813 online applications from Dublin, which contribute to the Passport Service logjam. The delays have been thrown into sharper focus with the lifting of restrictions, as a large increase in foreign travel is expected 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 1.7m applications expected in 2022. An additional €10m was also allocated to the service under Budget 2022.

In pre-pandemic times, the highest number of applications received in one year was in the region of 1m. During Covid restrictions, all but emergency cases were suspended at the Passport Service, which led to a large increase in the backlog which now stretches to over 110,000.

The Irish Examiner has reported on calls to set up a second passport printing machine in Cork to deal with the massive influx of applications.

While the current turnaround times are as high as 40 working days for first-time applications to the online service, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has said many of the applications in the system have incomplete information, which is lengthening the process.

In response to a parliamentary question, he said: “Passport Service figures show that 45% of current applications are incomplete and the onus is on the applicant to submit the required documents to the service.

“While the Passport Service makes every effort to contact applicants in such circumstances, their experience is that many applicants take weeks and sometimes months to send in the necessary documents.” 

There are more than 30,000 first-time applications currently in the system, and 13,000 of these have incomplete documentation, according to the minister.

Alongside Dublin and Cork, there are 1,000 outstanding applications from people based in Galway, Kildare and Meath. There are 586 in Kerry, 883 in Limerick, 585 in Tipperary, 549 in Waterford and 429 in Clare.

Given the long waiting times, the advice for people planning to travel is to apply for their passport as early as possible. Mr Coveney said: “I urge citizens to check the validity of their passports before booking travel and to ensure that they apply in plenty of time.

“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.” 

Separately, there are 32,000 applications for foreign birth registrations currently waiting to be processed, with 7,000 processed during the entirety of last year.

The registration process for those eligible to be an Irish citizen who are born outside the country was also curtailed significantly during the pandemic. Mr Coveney said the recruitment drive under way for the Passport Service will also help to clear the backlog in foreign birth registrations.