It appears that there is little in the way of wriggle room for those who are awaiting a passport due to the current backlog.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has said that there are no plans to introduce emergency passport extensions for people whose passports have recently expired despite recent calls by Fine Gael that emergency travel certificates be issued to people whose passports are out of date under the provisions of the Passport Act 2008.
A spokesman for the department said that the proposals "held little scope" and could not be extended.
"An Emergency Travel Certificate only allows for a single, one-way trip. Furthermore, they are not accepted in the USA. Under international agreements, the maximum validity of any passport is 10 years, and therefore cannot be extended."
Travel to the UK
While Irish citizens can travel to the UK using a valid form of photo ID instead of a passport, different travel companies have different requirements.
Aer Lingus will allow passengers to travel to the UK with some form of official photo identification including a driver's licence, international student card, a Government issued photo ID card, a health insurance or social security card, bus pass or work ID as long as they display a photo.
Irish citizens under the age of 16 do not require a photo ID, if they are travelling to the UK with their parent/guardian with Aer Lingus.
However, citizens of countries other than Ireland and the UK must produce a valid passport and visa where applicable, for travel between Ireland and the UK.
Conversely Ryanair require all passengers travelling to the UK to have a valid passport and have said that there is "no question" of them altering this position.
"As an airline flying to more than 26 countries and carrying over 70 nationalities daily there is no question of our agreed passport requirement to be altered or waived. It's the Government's job to issue passports, and not Ryanair's job to cover for Government incompetence," a spokesman for the company said.
Travel within Europe
Because Ireland have chosen to opt out of the Schengen Agreement and maintain border controls with other EU countries Irish citizens require a valid passport to travel to all European countries apart from the UK.
The Schengen Agreement abolishes internal borders allowing passport-free movement between 22 EU States and three other European countries (Norway, Iceland and Switzerland ), however, Ireland and the UK chose to maintain border controls with other EU countries and are therefore outside the Schengen area (although they have been authorised to apply some of the provisions on police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters).
Travelling via ferry
While there has been some speculation that travelling via ferry would allow passengers to bypass passport controls within the EU, a spokesman for Irish Ferries said yesterday that no one should attempt to travel without a passport to avoid being turned back in their destination country.
"Nobody would be advised to leave Ireland without a passport…many people have been sent back in the past without proper documentation. People should recognise that the ferry passport system as being airport in terms of its strictness and security," he said.
Travel insurance
Already disgruntled travellers will be further disappointed by the news that they are unlikely to be able to claim back travel insurance through travel insurance claims which generally only cover compensation due to death, injury or illness.
"The cancellation of your holiday due to failure to obtain a passport is generally not covered under travel insurance policies," a spokesman for the Irish Insurance Federation said yesterday.