Around 40 young men lose their passport every weekend after carrying it as a form of ID, writes Ciara Phelan.
Young Irish men in particular are being advised to consider obtaining a passport card which will fit in their wallet after new figures reveal up to 40 men lose their passport after carrying it in their back pocket on a night out.
New information released by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) states between 30 and 40 passports are handed in to the DFA every Monday as a "result of falling out of lads’ back pockets."
Photo-Me, the DFA approved passport photograph service has advised men to apply for the passport card.
“It seems that Irish men in particular, have a habit of keeping their passport in their back pocket on a night out or while travelling and for this reason the passport card makes so much more sense,” said Patrick Brennan, Managing Director Photo-Me Ireland and UK.
“It’s much more convenient and safer to store the credit card sized passport in a wallet and means you can leave your passport book at home for safe keeping in the unfortunate event that you do lose the card.”
The passport card is accepted in the EU, EEA and Switzerland and is available to all Irish citizens who are 18 years and over and hold a valid Irish Passport.
According to the DFA, the projected number of Passport books due to be issued in 2017 is between nine hundred thousand and one million, as of April this year many of them replacements for ones lost in pubs and clubs.
Passports that are handed in to the DFA are cancelled immediately for security reasons.
