Jennifer O’Connell: Ireland’s third wave struggle is still targeting the wrong things
Government’s reason as to why passport services have been paused is disingenuous

You don’t have to be a signed up member of the tin foil hat brigade to suspect there’s something more at play here when it comes to the Government’s decision to shut down passport services. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
Anita Varga isn’t planning to leave the country any time soon. But when the restrictions on international travel lift, she hopes to get a flight to see her elderly parents in Budapest.
There is a problem, however. Her son’s passport is out of date, and the Department of Foreign Affairs has stopped processing “routine applications” since Christmas Eve, the third time in 12 months the service has been suspended.