Who is telling porkies indeed. When the passport people were before the Dáil during the summer, they strongly hinted it was people themselves that were messing up the forms and that's why some passports took so long to process. Perhaps your kids experience is an example of how it does work when all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed?
As for the NTA, it's just an institutional attitude of 'we don't give a fuk'. If the Guards (who actually vet you) can get the paper licence out in 2 weeks, it's a poor showing on the NTA that they can't produce a plastic ID card within a few days.
It's just the way some organisations are set up.
I went for my Public Services Card today. There's a bit of back and forth on email to get an appointment. Then they post you out a paper application form! I brought the completed paper forms to the centre and handed them in. The guy behind the counter then had to scan them into the computer. I couldn't find my birth cert but the guy said no problem and logged into the Birth Cert database. Why ask me for the Birth Cert if they could check it online? Then I had to digitally sign my signature into the computer because ? but then he printed off a paper form that I physically signed to say I wasn't lying. Needless to say, that was scanned back into the computer as well!
Some committee wrote the procedures and never thought about how it worked in real life. Having said that, I'll get my PSC card within 2 weeks (allegedly)
- which will then allow me to verify my 'basic' MyGovID identity.
- which will then allow me to log on to MyWelfare.ie and check up on my PRSI contributions.
So 3 websites* & 1 office visit to prove to the Govt that I exist and lots of scanning documents that they gave me. In the old days, I believe you just rang a phone number and spoke to a human
But, hey, it's 2022 and computers are the future. Thing is, I only started on this journey because a Govt computer said I didn't pay any PRSI for 2020. Go figure!
* Intreo.ie, MyWelfare.ie & myGovID.ie (
Your single login for government services in Ireland)