Passport applications treble in the last month

Passport applications have trebled in the past month according to the Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Applications have jumped from 1,400 a day in December to almost 5,000 a day in recent weeks.

Editor of Air and Travel Magazine Eoghan Corry is advising parents applying for a passport for a newborn child that the process can take a considerable length of time.

“When it ramped up last summer we had a lot of newborn babies and first time applicants, and they ran into a backlog.

“The online process , even when the whole passport business was under present, seemed to be performing very well, but for first time applicants it’s a more complicated process and that’s where we see the breakdown.”