If you're thinking of heading abroad, you might want to take this into account
(Image: dfa.ie)We're on the verge of a ' passport emergency' as families scramble to book overseas holidays this year.
The passport office is looking to take on 'significant numbers' of additional staff to deal with an expected surge as people look to fly out of Ireland for holidays this summer.
They hope the move will double staff numbers from June 2021.
There's already a backlog of 113 thousand applications because of covid lockdowns and the Irish Examiner reports an estimated 1.7 million more applications are expected as summer approaches.
Fine Gael Senator Garret Ahearn has called for the passport office to be open 7 days a week until the so called 'emergency' is over.
☀️ ?♂️ Summer is fast approaching and many people will be planning a holiday abroad.@GarretAhearn is encouraging you make sure that your passport will still be in date and valid for travel.
Link: https://t.co/itU38O40CG pic.twitter.com/G4xtxORgvt
— Fine Gael (@FineGael) January 26, 2022
The Examiner reports that current turnaround times for straightforward adult online renewals are 10 working days, and 15 working days for complex or child online renewals.
