Call to install passport printing press in Cork

While the turnaround time for passport applications has shortened considerably, particularly since the introduction of an online service, a printing press should be set up in Cork in order to be able to process emergency applications within hours if need be, a Fine Gael councillor suggested during Monday’s meeting of Cork County Council.

Cork East councillor Rory Cocking said he was sure all of his colleagues had been contacted, as he had, about first-time applications, or lost or out-of-date passports.

While Mr Cocking acknowledged that while passport service staff were very informative and accommodating where they can be, sometimes applications are not completed in time and applicants are unable to travel despite their best efforts.

“This could be due to a variety of reasons, whether that be due to requests for further documentation or proof of identity,” he told the council. 

“We currently have two publicly accessible passport offices, one on the South Mall in Cork, and one in Mount St in Dublin, in addition to a passport printing facility in Balbriggan in Dublin. Of these three buildings, only two actually print passports, and both are located in Dublin.”

Mr Cocking said that the number of first-time applications had more than doubled to over 275,000 applications, the number of renewals sought had increased significantly to 725,000 in the past five years, and against that backdrop, the situation that there was no passport service outside of Dublin “warranted review”.

“In some cases we are literally talking about a matter of hours as to whether a passport is printed and dispatched or collected and an applicant can actually travel,” said Mr Cocking. 

“People may be required to travel to Dublin at short notice to collect a passport and then return to Cork to catch a flight. The current concentration of printing in Dublin severely disadvantages those coming from further afield, such as Munster, and a print facility in Cork should be explored as the service expands.”

Several councillors spoke in support of the motion, calling on the council to write to the Tánaiste and foreign affairs minister Simon Harris to seek his consideration for the demand for the establishment of a passport printing service in Cork.