31 January 2022
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Sinn Fein TD for Cork North Central, Thomas Gould, has today called on the government to consider a passport printing machine in Cork to help clear the significant backlog.
Deputy Gould said:
“We have the 2nd highest number of people waiting for passports in the state after Dublin. It is clear that the passport office is really struggling to keep up with demand.
“We have to be realistic that the easing of Covid-19 restrictions will see increases in people booking holidays this summer. Many of these people will need passports and we cannot have people applying for passports with plenty of time only to miss out on holidays because of huge delays.
“We can see that this is going to escalate in the coming months and we now need to be looking at solutions to the problem.
“One that has been suggested is installing a passport printing machine in Cork. The government now needs to look at the feasibility of this and give it serious consideration.
“I am also calling upon the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, as the individual who bears the ultimate responsibility for his department, to allocate sufficient staff members to address the backlog of passport applications which are currently outstanding.”
