THE BACKLOG of unprocessed passport applications as a result of industrial action by civil servants over pay cuts remains at nearly 50,000, the Department for Foreign Affairs confirmed yesterday.
However, the long queues and bottlenecks, witnessed over the last few days at the Passport Office in Dublin, have eased significantly.
Several people emerging from the office yesterday said they were being issued with numbered slips and told to return later in the day.
But it remained unclear if the backlog in unprocessed travel documents was being reduced, and if priority was been given to urgent travel plans.
Staff at the office are understood to have informed people that An Post would be delivering two batches of new passports later this afternoon. A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said: “The Passport Office is continuing to operate and process passport applications.”
Early yesterday morning, long queues again formed outside the Molesworth Street office as hundreds of people attempted to salvage their travel plans. Dozens of people, some huddled under blankets, had queued overnight to ensure early entry into the office.
Several people emerged later in the morning brandishing new passports and expressing relief that their ordeal was over.
One of the first was Paul Hickey from Foxrock, Co Dublin, who said he was “ecstatic” to be finally holding his new passport.
He is due to travel to Malawi for a five-week trip on Monday and had spent four days this week queuing at the office on Molesworth Street.