NORTH Belfast Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín has called for urgent action by the Irish Government to address delays in issuing passports.
Ms Ní Chuilín says her Cliftonville Road office has been inundated with panicking constituents raising concerns over their own passport applications.
“I’m calling for urgent action by the Irish Government to address major delays in issuing travel documents and the opening of an Irish passport office here in the north," she said.
“Our offices are currently dealing with large numbers of constituents panicking that they won’t get their Irish passports in time for holidays that have been booked for the summer.
“People are genuinely in distress over travel plans including going to weddings and other family occasions abroad with no guarantee that their passports will arrive in time even though they applied for their documents a considerable time ago.
Ms Ní Chuilín is also calling for an Irish passport office to be opened in the North,
“I’m calling for an Irish passport office to be opened in the North as soon as possible," she added.
“Our offices right across the north are having similar experiences with passport delays and demand is clearly rising according to the most recent reports.
“The Irish passport service needs properly resourced and I have nothing but praise for the current staff who are doing all they can to deal with elected representatives enquiries.
“However this is little comfort for people waiting that don’t know if their documents will arrive in time for them to travel.
“We of course will do all we can to assist constituents in the meantime and people requiring a Irish passport should be aware of delays and plan their trips accordingly if that is possible.”
