New information provided to Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Tourism and Aviation and TD for Clare, Cathal Crowe, show that there is a backlog of 1,000 passport applications in Clare.
900 are for renewals with 100 first time applications.
Deputy Crowe commented, “The challenge of clearing this backlog will be significant and I hope it can be addressed soon. While obviously the fundamental reason for having a passport is that of international travel, it is not of huge importance right now, nonetheless it is essential that we resume normal service as soon as possible.
“The target for vaccination is for 80 percent of adults to have at least had one jab by the end of June. Similar targets exist across Europe. If these are achieved, it is likely that more traditional patterns of international travel will resume and we could see significant demand.
“The European Parliament approved Digital Green Certificates this week. These may well be needed for international travel too, but they won’t arise for many people if they don’t have the most basic travel document, a valid passport.
“We are told that the backlog can be cleared in 6-8 weeks. Let’s get moving on it now,” concluded Deputy Crowe.