A mum was forced to leave her 10-year-old daughter behind for a family holiday after a passport mix-up.
Samantha O'Connor noticed her daughter Ellen's passport was out of date just days before flying out for their family holiday to Greece.
The mum from Dublin says they couldn't cancel the holiday as they had spent £3,500 on the trip - and was left frustrated by the complicated passport renewal process - as Dublin Live report.
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She said: "We were making sure we had everything sorted when we realised that the child's passport had expired.
"It was a renewal - it's not like she hasn't had a passport. She's had two passports previously.
"I couldn't put my holiday forward because I'd have to give five working days to do that."
Samantha contacted local politicians to try and speed up the process - but this proved to be unsuccessful and she says she was left with no other option but to leave Ellen at home with her aunt.
Ellen and her father booked a second flight, hoping to join the rest of the family in Greece once the passport arrived.
However, Samantha said the family's holiday was completely ruined by the stress of waiting for the passport.
Samantha told Dublin Live, from Kolymbia on the island of Rhodes.: "I flew out with my other daughter here on Saturday,"
"My husband could follow us out with her (Ellen) on the second week.
She continued: "But my whole first week of the holiday went sitting by the phone waiting and checking emails. My whole first six days here literally went sitting by the phone and making sure I had internet and signal in case someone was going to ring me, which they never did."
Samantha said the holiday was a way for the family to spend some quality time together after she has been busy working throughout the pandemic - and her daughter Ellen was left disappointed not to be able to join the family for their first holiday in two years..
She said: "She was devastated at the beginning. I was devastated. I was inconsolable even going out on the flight because of the thoughts of leaving her behind."
Samantha says she was left annoyed with the passport office during the process after she struggled to get in contact with someone to help.
She said: "I just think the communication is very, very bad.
"I went on the passport checker to discover it had now been posted.
"But at that point we only had a few days left on the holiday. "
A spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs said: " The turnaround time for applications such as child renewals and first time applicants begins only when we receive all required supporting documentation.
"When an application has been correctly completed and all documentation has been received the Passport Service is making every effort to issue passports as quickly as possible."
The current turnaround times for valid online applications are as follows:
· 10 working days for simple adult renewals;
· 15 working days for complex renewals, including children, and
· 40 working days for all First Time Applications.
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