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Passport

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  • 28-07-2010 3:44pm
    #1
    Einhard
    Registered Users Posts: 6,920 ✭✭✭


    Ok, this is my second thread in nearly as many days and I don't want to come across as a serial moaner, but just applied for a passport today.

    It cost €80.

    :eek:




    Edit: After a little digging, I found it's not just Irish passports that have a premium on them. It's £77.50 in the UK. How on earth can a relatively straightforward document, processed by a body which is already funded by the exchequer, cost so much?


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    #2
    Davidth88
    Registered Users Posts: 3,181 ✭✭✭Davidth88


    Whoa..... my passport cost 161 Euro when I renewed it in May

    ( British passport renewed in Ireland )

    http://britishembassyinireland.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/passports/fees

    So I would say 80 euro is half price !


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    #3
    Pablo Sanchez
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,207 ✭✭✭Pablo Sanchez


    Speaking of the price of official id...how much does renewal of driving licenses cost these days?


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    #4
    Run_to_da_hills
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,009 ✭✭✭✭Run_to_da_hills


    Don't loose it or have it stolen twice in the space of 10 years.

    A third replacement is e80 and will only last you two years. :eek:


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    #5
    Shiny mcShine
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4 ✭Shiny mcShine


    I'd always assumed that you're paying for the biometric features and all that anti-counterfeit stuff, though i'd also imagine that the hefty price has a deterrent value too. i.e. They're expensive to replace so take care of it and don't go leaving it lying around for Mossad to pick up


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    #6
    Guy:Incognito
    Registered Users Posts: 38,247 ✭✭✭✭Guy:Incognito


    Shiny mcShine wrote: »
    don't go leaving it lying around for Mossad to pick up

    They make their own :)


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    #7
    91011
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,383 ✭✭✭91011


    Einhard wrote: »
    Ok, this is my second thread in nearly as many days and I don't want to come across as a serial moaner, but just applied for a passport today.

    It cost €80.

    :eek:

    That's €8 a year for a secure document that proves your identity.

    How is this a rip off? Please tell.

    1st USA passport = $165, renewal = $140.

    €90 in France
    £77.50 (€95) in UK


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    #8
    syklops
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,966 ✭✭✭✭syklops


    Shiny mcShine wrote: »
    I'd always assumed that you're paying for the biometric features and all that anti-counterfeit stuff, though i'd also imagine that the hefty price has a deterrent value too. i.e. They're expensive to replace so take care of it and don't go leaving it lying around for Mossad to pick up

    There are no biometric features. Unless you include the photo.

    There is the new RFID or the Really Flipping Idiiotic Device-to-put-in-a-passport as it is known in some circles. Even then they only cost about 5cents to make.

    Personally I dont think there should be a charge for them, but thats just me.


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    #9
    hoser expat
    Registered Users Posts: 181 ✭✭hoser expat


    Hmmm, makes me feel better about renewing my Canadian passport at the embassy in Dublin. $65, which works out to about €47. They send all the paperwork to Canada and even guarantee to have it ready for you in 15 days.


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    #10
    syklops
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,966 ✭✭✭✭syklops


    And if the renewal is delayed you might have to spend money on an emergency one as well.


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    #11
    Einhard
    Registered Users Posts: 6,920 ✭✭✭Einhard


    91011 wrote: »
    That's €8 a year for a secure document that proves your identity.

    How is this a rip off? Please tell.

    1st USA passport = $165, renewal = $140.

    €90 in France
    £77.50 (€95) in UK

    It's a rip off because I fail to see any correlation between the actual cost of the product and the price charged. I don't feel the government should be essentially making a profit of what is an essential item. I'm unemployed at the mo, and need a passport in case I need to travel abroad for interviews and the like. I have a form filled out and ready to go, but can't actually afford the fee right now. And I don't have many expenses. Imagine having €80 expense dropped on you if you're struggling to get by as it is? If it were a case of the document actually costing that amount to produce, fair enough- but those who process it and dispatch it are civil servants whom I already pay, and notwithstanding bio-metrics and all that, I seriously can't see the raw materials in the average passport costing close to a 100 big ones.

    And if you read my post, you'd see I had acknowledged the high prices elsewhere. Just because it's the same in other jurisdictions, doesn't make it any less of a rip off.


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    #12
    Slasher
    Registered Users Posts: 400 ✭✭Slasher


    I thought we were way beyond this type of discussion in this country by now.

    You have to pay for many Government services, the same way as you have to pay for many products or services supplied by the private sector. That's just the way it is. If you are not satisfied with that, write to your local TD and ask them to change it. There's no point in writing about it here on boards.ie.

    Yes, the passport office is a disgrace (remember the strikes last year?) and has been for years, but we voted in this Government (I did not vote for them, but "we" did collectively) so we have to put up with their corruption and incompetence until at least 2012.

    The price of a passport is made up of more than the cost of materials, there's also a hell of a lot of labour and overhead.

    I am sorry if people are unable to afford the price of a passport, but there are many things we may not be able to afford from time to time due to our personal circumstances.


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    #13
    91011
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,383 ✭✭✭91011


    The passport office is operated at a loss. That's why there was so much crap by its staff over changes in working practices.


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    #14
    Pablo Sanchez
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,207 ✭✭✭Pablo Sanchez


    91011 wrote: »
    The passport office is operated at a loss. That's why there was so much crap by its staff over changes in working practices.
    What do you mean that its operated at a loss, its a government service, would you equally say that the Gardai or schools are run at a loss?


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    #15
    mikemac
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19,986 ✭✭✭✭mikemac


    It lasts you 10 years OP, hardly a rip off.

    Will you miss that €8 per year


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    #16
    pleasant Co.
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 7,405 Mod ✭✭✭✭pleasant Co.


    feelingstressed wrote: »
    It lasts you 10 years OP, hardly a rip off.

    Will you miss that €8 per year

    How great would it be if you could pay it off like that! (if you wanted)


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    #17
    mikemac
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19,986 ✭✭✭✭mikemac


    That would be far too much hassle to organize.
    Make one direct debit of €8 per year for ten years?
    That's ridiculous and more administration for the passport office to organize.

    I'm sure the OP and others can scrape together €80 if they need their passport


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    #18
    pleasant Co.
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 7,405 Mod ✭✭✭✭pleasant Co.


    feelingstressed wrote: »
    That would be far too much hassle to organize.
    Make one direct debit of €8 per year for ten years?
    That's ridiculous and more administration for the passport office to organize

    My apologies, I see how my previous post could have been misread.

    It was a tongue-in-cheek post at your "€8 per year" breakdown.


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    #19
    Einhard
    Registered Users Posts: 6,920 ✭✭✭Einhard


    91011 wrote: »
    The passport office is operated at a loss. That's why there was so much crap by its staff over changes in working practices.

    The whole bloody country is operating at a loss! Should I have to pony up extra when I call the cops, or send a child to school? I don't see the need for an €80 fee when the administration costs are paid by the exchequer anyway. I don't believe that government services should be run at a profit.
    feelingstressed wrote: »
    It lasts you 10 years OP, hardly a rip off.

    Will you miss that €8 per year

    It doesn't matter how long it lasts for. You could justify any price using that logic. The state is basically making a profit out of an item which, for most people, is essential.
    feelingstressed wrote: »
    That would be far too much hassle to organize.
    Make one direct debit of €8 per year for ten years?
    That's ridiculous and more administration for the passport office to organize.

    I'm sure the OP and others can scrape together €80 if they need their passport

    I can afford it. But others can't. There's plenty of people out there relying on the St VdeP to make ends meet every week, who can barely afford to send their children to school, and for whom €80 is a major burden which can't be so easily "scraped" together. On top of that, there's the whole principle of the matter. I paid €75 for a driving test the other day. Frankly I think this is too much, but covers the expenses of the examiner and a car for an hour, so I can't complain. How on earth can the issuing a passport be even comparable in expense?


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    #20
    Slasher
    Registered Users Posts: 400 ✭✭Slasher


    Einhard wrote: »
    I don't believe that government services should be run at a profit.

    Are you suggesting the Passport Office is run at a profit? How do you know?

    Look, someone has to pay the wages of the folks in the passport office. Either you pay 80 quid, or you pay in taxes. This way, if you don't want or need a passport you don't have to pay.


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    #21
    mikemac
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19,986 ✭✭✭✭mikemac


    Mactard wrote: »
    My apologies, I see how my previous post could have been misread.

    It was a tongue-in-cheek post at your "€8 per year" breakdown.

    I missed the sarcasm, I'm always doing that :o


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    #22
    keithclancy
    Registered Users Posts: 9,208 ✭✭✭keithclancy


    Einhard wrote: »
    I can afford it. But others can't. There's plenty of people out there relying on the St VdeP to make ends meet every week, who can barely afford to send their children to school, and for whom €80 is a major burden which can't be so easily "scraped" together. On top of that, there's the whole principle of the matter. I paid €75 for a driving test the other day. Frankly I think this is too much, but covers the expenses of the examiner and a car for an hour, so I can't complain. How on earth can the issuing a passport be even comparable in expense?

    They could have a National ID card as a cheaper option.

    Passport is quite expensive to run as a system, pretty much a given that its a cost in every country.

    Sure if it was free then you wouldnt really care if you lost it, would be a shed load of 18 year olds getting it to get into bars.

    IMO 80 euros is more than fair compared to other countries.


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    #23
    CantGetNoSleep
    Registered Users Posts: 7,252 ✭✭✭CantGetNoSleep


    Sounds like a Daily Mail story - 'Dole not enough to buy €80 passport for my holiday to Spain'


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    #24
    Cabaal
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 28,497 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cabaal


    Einhard wrote: »
    Ok, this is my second thread in nearly as many days and I don't want to come across as a serial moaner, but just applied for a passport today.

    It cost €80.

    <SNIP> It's £77.50 in the UK. How on earth can a relatively straightforward document, processed by a body which is already funded by the exchequer, cost so much?

    So its 80e in Ireland and by todays exchange rates its 93e in the UK,

    A passport is an extremely important document which needs to be validated, chipped and security sealed. Its not some standard bit of paper that you get from your phone company.

    As said above 8e a year is a bloody good deal for such an important document, if you charged say 20e you'd have every idiot in the country buying them and loosing them as they#'d have no regard for such a important document.

    Anybody that carrys around their passport whilst getting **** faced on a night out is a idiot imho


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