WAITING TIMES for a passport have increased by five working days, with more than 64,000 applications currently in the backlog.
An Post has withdrawn its 10-day turnaround guarantee for processing applications through the “passport express” service.
Applications sent in via this method are now taking around five weeks to process. Customers are still being charged €8.50 for the express service despite the removal of the turnaround guarantee. However, this service remains faster than submitting applications via normal post, which takes around eight weeks to process, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The Passport Office is receiving just under 4,000 applications a day, according to a spokeswoman at the department.
Some 64,519 passport applications are currently in the backlog, accounting for a 10th of applications received annually, she said. While the backlog has decreased from 69,400 applications at the end of April, the processing time has increased.
A number of temporary staff started work at the Passport Office in Dublin this week in an attempt to alleviate the backlog, but are still being trained. Staff at the office voted to accept a deal to allow the recruitment of 50 temporary clerical officers last week.