A new reminder service is set to be launched by the Irish passport office next year, letting holidaymakers know when their travel document is due to expire.

The service is expected to come into place in 2027 for both those applying for first-time passports and those seeking renewals.

Due to data protection laws, the change will only apply to passports issued from next year onwards and not ones that are due to expire in the coming years.

If you hold an Irish passport, you do not need an ETA Pic: Getty Images
A new reminder service is set to be launched by the Irish passport office next year. Pic: Getty Images

Helen McEntee confirmed the rollout of the new service in response to a parliamentary question from her Fine Gael colleague Naoise Ó Muirí.

She said that the new service ‘takes every opportunity to remind citizens to check their passport validity’ and runs ‘extensive public communications campaign to encourage citizens to apply, through passport online, in plenty of time for their passport prior to travel’.

McEntee continued: ‘Along with other upgrades to the passport service’s systems, in 2027 citizens applying for a passport for the first time or renewing their passport will be able to opt in to receive electronic communications, including passport expiry reminder notices.

irish wolfhound passport
Helen McEntee confirmed the rollout of the new service. Pic: Department of Foreign Affairs/PA

‘This service will be opt-in for several reasons. My department has a statutory obligation from a data protection perspective to only use personal data, which may include home addresses or email addresses, where it is satisfied the data is accurate and up-to-date and would, therefore, be precluded from automatically using addresses used for the dispatch of passports 10 years ago.

‘Unlike car tax or travel insurance, adult passports expire every 10 years and individuals’ circumstances or contact details may have changed in the interim.’

The announcement of the new service comes just a few weeks after a newly designed passport and passport card were unveiled, featuring landmark security features.

The government spent nearly €8million on new security techniques, printing machines, and designs for the passport, overhauling its data page and blank visa pages.

New hand-drawn art in the book includes a red fox, hare, puffin, pine marten, badger, blue tit, otter, red squirrel and robin.

The Irish wolfhound also appears inside the cover page, with UV light showing additional security features across the pages.