Those travelling for Christmas urged to check passports now 

People intending to go abroad for Christmas have been urged to check their passports are in order now, as the average turnaround time for new a passport stands at 20 days.

Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North West, Aindrias Moynihan has urged people who are considering travelling abroad over Christmas and the New Year to check their passport expiry date as soon as possible to give them time to renew if needed.

As staffing numbers at the Passport Office have doubled since June of this year, lengthy delays experienced by people earlier this year “should not be an issue”, according to Mr Moynihan.

The turnaround for first-time passports has halved to 20 days, and 84% of online adult renewals are issued within three days or less.

However, Mr Moynihan urged people to give themselves plenty of time to renew before December.

“Just like during the summer, Christmastime is another time of year when travel abroad increases.

“With this in mind I would ask anyone considering travelling out of the country at that time to check their passport expiry date as soon as they can,” he said.

The Passport Service has three passport printers, two in the main production facility in Balbriggan and a third in the Passport Office in Dublin 2. In a parliamentary question, Mr Moynihan asked the minister for foreign affairs if the Cork Passport Office is set up for the printing of passports.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said that there are no current plans to install a passport printing machine in the Cork Passport Office.