A backlog in passport processing should be declared 'essentially an emergency', according to one Fine Gael Senator.
Senator Garret Ahearn is tabling a motion demanding an urgent upscaling of the service.
It comes as the Passport Office is set to reportedly receive up to 1.7 million applications in the coming weeks and months.
While it can take up to 40 working days to process complex requests.
Senator Ahearn told Newstalk Breakfast this is particularly the case with first-time applications.
"It would have to be said, though, there's about 50,000 - just over 50,000 - passports issued every month.
"The majority of those go quite easily, but where we do have issues is in more complex ones - first-time passports.
"This has been an issue for a number of months... what me and my colleagues are asking for is an upscale in terms of staff, an upscale in urgency.
"To treat this, for the first number of months, as essentially an emergency".
Staffing levels in the Passport Office have increased from around 450 in June to 760 today.
He says these numbers are set to increase further.
"By the end of March, we expect to have 900 people working in the Passport Office.
"So that's a double of staff from last June."
'We need a reminder'
But he says it was not known exactly when travel would resume.
"In fairness to the Minister and the department, they've kind of recognised this as an issue.
"One of the issues is we didn't really know when we'd re-open, and the expectation was once we re-opened the country people would see the opportunity to go abroad on a holiday.
"There's an awful lot of people who've had kids over the last number of years [and] haven't applied for a passport, because you actually haven't been able to go anywhere."
And he suggests reminders could be the way to go.
"I think we need a reminder for people that passports are out of date.
"A little bit like the motor tax, an e-mail to remind people that you're out of date.
"Also I think the industry needs to do something in terms of when you're booking.
"I think you need to be asked 'What's your passport number, what's the expiry date of your passport?'
"It reminds people in time that it's out of date".
