Almost 70,000 passport applications are now in the backlog, an increase of nearly 20,000 since the end of March.
However, a slight decrease in the backlog has occurred since the end of April when some 69,400 applications were awaiting processing.
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said this time of year is “traditionally the busiest time,” with some 69,179 people awaiting passports.
She said a waiting time of 20 working days still existed, but added that most members of the public had been getting their applications in earlier than normal.
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The Passport Office processes 650,000 applications every year according to the Civil, Public and Service Union.