Over 230,000 people have applied for an Irish passport so far this year, a 30 percent increase in the number of applications submitted for the same period in 2018.

According to Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs, the rise in applications is due to an increased number of Irish people traveling as well as a tendency towards early renewal.

The Irish Passport Service issued over 860,000 passports last year, the highest number ever recorded, reports Newstalk.

Read More: Irish government called upon to address Brexit passport pressure

Seventy percent of last year’s applications came from the island of Ireland.

The majority of all passport renewals are now processed online, which has a faster turnaround time of 10 working days.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said: “Every year we get hundreds of cases of the parents being ready to go on holiday, bags packed, but the night before they realize one of their children’s passports is out.”

“The quickest and most convenient way to get a passport is to use the award-winning online service.

Read More: Shortage of Irish passport applications in Northern Ireland amid Brexit uncertainty

“Given the demand we are experiencing, significant extra resources have been given to the passport service including hundreds of extra staff for processing and customer service.”

Passport holders can renew from anywhere in the world by logging on to www.dfa.ie/passportonline.