12 October 2016
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North West, Aindrias Moynihan, has urged people considering travelling abroad over Christmas and the New Year to check their passport expiry date as soon as possible to give them time to renew if needed.
Deputy Moynihan commented, “Just like during the Summer, Christmastime is another time of year when travel abroad increases. With this in mind I would ask anyone considering travelling out of the country at that time to check their passport expiry date as soon as they can.
“If the passport needs to be renewed, they will have plenty of time to do so before December.”
The Cork North West TD added: “Thankfully staffing numbers at the Passport Office have now doubled since June this year. So, the lengthy delays experienced by people earlier this year should not be an issue. The turnaround for first-time passports has halved to currently 20 days and 84% of online adult renewals are issued within 3 days.”
Speaking in Dáil Eireann, Deputy Moynihan also asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the Cork Passport Office is set up for the printing of passports. He was informed that while there are no current plans to install a printing machine in the Cork office, the Passport Service will continue to consider ways in which to enhance customer experience. The Minister added that he was satisfied overall that the current production capacity meets the needs of passport applicants.