Over 60 people were queueing at the Passport Office in Dublin this morning, but the lengthy delays and bottlenecks witnessed over the last week have eased.
People standing outside the office in pouring rain today expressed frustration at the backlog in applications, saying it still remained unclear if priority was being given to urgent travel plans.
Last week, passport seekers were told that immediate travel plans were now being accommodated.
However, one woman today said she had been told that the holiday which she is due to go on this Thursday is not considered “urgent travel”.
Edel Kelly from Maynooth, who is due to travel to Spain with her husband and father-in-law, said she was worried she might not get to go, despite having paid more than €1,000 for the 10-day trip.
“I don’t know what I'll do if I don’t get to go on this holiday," Ms Kelly said. "I don’t need a new passport as mine doesn’t expire until August, but I got married last July and my husband booked the holiday tickets under my married name.
“I’m a primary school teacher, I understand why they are doing it, but they could do it in different ways. Innocent people are being affected”.
Also in the queue was Alan Byrne, who had travelled from Kingscourt in Co Cavan this morning.
Mr Byrne said he needed his passport as he was getting married abroad and also needed the passport number to give to the Department of Foreign Affairs in order to get married in Lanzarote.
“I’ve been waiting on my passport for three weeks now. I previously queued for four hours but with no success, so I’m back again today. The wedding is all booked and paid for and the invitations have been sent out,” he said.
“I understand where the passport workers are coming from but they’re lucky to have a job. I’ve no work. If I got some pay I'd take it," he said.
Jeff Callaghan had travelled from England on the Norfolkline ferry this morning in order to get a passport for his aunt who is Irish but based in Liverpool.
“She has been given the gift of a trip to the United States but the passport is in her maiden name and needs to be changed to her married name”.
The consulate in the UK told her they didn’t want to take her passport off her to get the name change done, as they didn’t know when they would get it back, he added.
Meanwhile, the Civic Public and Services Union has warned of full-scale strikes in the Passport Office from as early as this week and escalated industrial action across the Civil Service if no deal is reached.
The union, which represents lower-paid civil servants, is seeking money lost in the pay cuts to be returned by the end of the year. However, last night other unions maintained that this would not be attainable.