THE DEPARTMENT OF Foreign Affairs is advising people to check their passports if they’re planning to take any trips soon.

The passport office has experienced a surge in late applications recently as people prepare to head off on their summer holidays. They’re advising that anyone who’s not sure about their passport’s expiry date should “avoid hassle and expense by checking today”.

Processing time for a passport depends on whether it’s for an adult or a child, whether it’s a first time passport or not and whether the application is being made in Ireland or abroad.

It currently takes about ten or eleven days to renew a passport through An Post’s Passport Express Service, and if one is needed more urgently an application must be made directly to the passport office on Molesworth Street in Dublin.

Anyone making such a last minute application can expect long queues, more expense and a possible wait of four days.

Parents are also being urged to check the validity of children’s travel documents as some European countries no longer admit a child travelling on a parent’s passport.

If in doubt you are advised to contact the embassy of the country you are travelling to.

There are still some Irish passports in circulation with under-16s listed under their parent’s names. These passports are no longer issued by the department of foreign affairs.