Independent TD Noel Grealish has advised people in Galway planning their summer holidays to apply early if they need their passports renewed. He warned that errors by applicants can lead to weeks of delays.
More than a million applications are handled by the Passport Service each year, with more than 34,000 of them from Galway. Grealish stressed the need for people to avoid simple mistakes that can end in tears for Galway holiday-goers: “Every year, my office is contacted by people whose holidays are in jeopardy because either they haven’t realised their passport has expired or they have forgotten that their children need their first passport.”
The Galway West TD urged people to use professional photos services, such as photo booths in their local pharmacy, to ensure the photo submitted with the application is of an acceptable quality: “Simple errors can hold up the passport application for weeks — the most common one by far is submitting a poor quality photo taken at home with their camera.”
Deputy Grealish also pointed out the importance of people who make online applications to check if they have received any alerts back from the Passport Service in relation to errors or additional documents required, such as an identity certification form that needs to be signed by a Garda for first-time applicants.
As the summer months approach the demand in applications rise, meaning the processing of applications takes longer and delays are inevitable. Grealish said that while the current turnaround for adult renewals using the Passport Service is two weeks, it can take up to four weeks for a first-time application to be processed, and twice that length of time for paper applications sent by post.
“It’s really important that people check if their passports are up to date and get a renewal application in before the annual rush starts, and also to remember to apply for a first passport for their children, which takes longer to process,” he added.
More than 34,000 passports were issued to people in Galway city and county last year, including both renewals and first time applicants. More than 20,000 were for adults and another 13,000-plus were for children, and of those, one in three were first-time applicants.
