Holiday-makers seeking passports at short notice could find themselves left at home under plans announced by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, yesterday to move the passport offices to Balbriggan, North Co Dublin.
Currently, passports are produced and issued at the State's two passport offices in Cork and Dublin. Under the Minister's plans, which are aimed at modernising the service, passports for the entire State will be manufactured in Balbriggan and posted to the applicants. The public offices will be retained in Cork and Dublin, but passports will no longer be produced at these sites.
While the change will have no effect on people who have made their applications by post more than 10 days before the passport is required, those seeking passports at short notice may no longer be facilitated.
The Dublin and Cork offices currently allow people who wish to travel at short notice, to bring their documents, including their travel tickets, and queue at the office to have their passport produced. The Balbriggan plant will not have public offices, so applicants will have to wait until their passports can be posted to them.
Announcing the changes Mr Cowen said the existing system was, "stretched and in urgent need of replacement".
