Online Passport Renewal Service Expands

Latest press release from Pat Casey TD, issued on Thursday, November 29th 2018…

Wicklow TD Pat Casey has welcomed the significant expansion to the Online Passport Renewal Service which launched this week and will take huge pressure of the current, embattled postal system.

Deputy Casey said “This badly needed expansion of the online system will permit the online renewal of children’s passports, introduce the options of a passport card for children and expand the categories of adults who can renew or replace their passports online.

“Each year, at peak holiday seasons, we see horrendous backlogs when it comes to passport applications. This leads to huge amount of anxiety for many families. In particular, the demand for Irish passports has soared in the wake of Brexit and has left many people experiencing significant delays when attempting to apply for a new passport or to renew an old one. This often has a knock-on effect in applying for some VISA’s.

“New information obtained by Fianna Fáil shows that the number of people from Northern Ireland and Great Britain applying for an Irish passport has increased by 83% over the past six years. The Department of Foreign Affairs must prepare itself for a further surge in passport applications when the UK officially leaves the European Union at the end of March 2019.

“During the summer, I heard from many constituents who were waiting over six weeks to get a passport, others waited up to three weeks for an urgent passport appointment. As always, I would advise people to check their passports are in date before booking a holiday, and I would encourage people to avail of the new online service which will be both cheaper and quicker,” concluded Deputy Casey.