Passport offices in Dublin and Cork are closed again from this afternoon as a result of industrial action by civil servants.
The Passport Office said last night that, as a result of industrial action, its offices in Cork and Molesworth Street in Dublin closed from 1pm today. Thjey will reopen on Monday morning.
The move forms part of the industrial action by members of the Civil Public and Services Union (CPSU), which represents lower-paid civil servants, in protest at pay cuts.
The industrial action is continuing in parallel with talks between public sector unions and Government representatives, which are dealing with “pay determination” and modernisation.
Yesterday, the talks dealt separately with local authorities, the Civil Service and education.
Last night, Fine Gael called on the Government to negotiate an emergency mechanism to allow people to travel within the EU on expired documentation.
Fine Gael spokesman on foreign affairs Billy Timmins said “the current passport debacle” was preventing Irish citizens from travelling abroad as a result of the log-jam in the processing of applications. He said this was becoming increasingly intolerable and was affecting Ireland’s reputation abroad.
“The situation regarding passport applications here has become ridiculous. People are being prevented from travelling abroad, which is completely intolerable, regardless of the ongoing industrial action,” he said.