Have you ever had that sinking feeling when you look for your passport just before you travel and discover it is out of date?  The Passport Office is coming to the rescue with a pilot Rapid Renewal programme at Molesworth Street.  Each day there will be an allocation of 20 appointments for one-day passport renewals.  The appointments can be booked online from 2.30pm the previous day on dfa.ie.  The pilot service will operate until October.

In addition a new passport appointment system is being introduced from April 28 for three-10 day renewals in the Passport Offices in Dublin and Cork.  You can book a guaranteed time slot online and save time queuing.  All other less urgent renewals are urged to use the Passport Express service from the Post Office, the fastest and cheapest way to renew and costs €80. Passports issued by appointment within one – five days will cost €95 plus the emergency fee of €55.

Customer focus at the Passport Office will also include a new Twitter service  where you can ask questions about passports on @Passport IRL.   People are also encouraged to use the Passport Renewal Reminder service, which sends an email three months in advance of the expiration, see eforms.gov.ie/en/reminder/passport/

The emergency service will continue to operate for really urgent cases and can be contacted on (01) 6711633. 

This week on The Irish Times Travel show, I talked to Valerie Cox from RTE, a lady that has seen more islands that most, Margaret Jeffares of Good Food Ireland and Jobn Concannon from Failte Ireland, about places they love in Ireland and things to do over Easter.

I hope it inspires you see a little of our beautiful country.  You can listen to the podcast here.
https://soundcloud.com/irishtimes-travel/easter-breaks-in-ireland

The Irish Times Travel Show this week will be about holidays at home.  My guests will include a man who should know all about holidays in Ireland, John Concannon, of Failte Ireland.  I will also be joined by Margaret Jeffares of Good Food Ireland, a woman who has been down every byway of the country seeking out the best food in Ireland.  John and Margaret will be talking about their favourite places to holiday, and a special guest will delight listeners talking about the magical places she has stayed.