Demands are being made for more staff to be deployed to the passport office.
Around 1.7 million passport applications are expected to be made in the weeks and months ahead as people book holidays abroad as Covid restrictions ease.
Cork has the second highest number of people waiting for a passport in the country, with 2,591 people affected by the application pile-up
Fine Gael Senator Garret Ahearn says there is a 'passport emergency' as work continues to clear a backlog and deal with new applications.
He says a number of things can be done.
"We need more staff, that's certainly one thing, as we're going from 600,000 passports issued last year.
"We need a reminder for people that passports are out of date, a little like motor tax, an email to remind that you're out of date.
"Also, I think the industry needs to do something, in terms of when you're booking I think you need to be asked what your passport number is."
