A 110 per cent increase from March 1st in the cost of passports for children has been described as "objectionable" by the Consumers' Association of Ireland (CAI).
The CAI chairman, Mr Michael Kilcoyne, complained last night about the decision to increase the cost of children's passports from €12 to €25.
The extra €13 charge, which represents an overall increase of 110 per cent, affects youngsters in the three to 17-year age category.
"This increase is particularly objectionable in that it affects an age which has no income whatsoever," Mr Kilcoyne said.
Mr Kilcoyne went on: "As the Minister with responsibility for consumer affairs, the Tánaiste, Ms Mary Harney, should personally intervene and stop these charges .
"Ms Harney preaches about shopping around to get the best value. But the hard fact is that air travellers cannot shop around as the Department of Foreign Affairs has a monopoly on passports."
Mr Kilcoyne also complained that the price of the standard passport was going up once more, having already increased by 32 per cent in the past 10 years.
It was impossible to avoid the charges as travel to most overseas destinations now required a passport, the Consumers' Association of Ireland chairman commented.
Some airlines, such as Ryanair, insisted on passports for travel even to Britain.
"Parents with large families who try and scrape together the money for sun holidays every few years will be badly hit by the 110 per cent increase in child passport charges," Mr Kilcoyne predicted.