The HSE's planning to reduce its Covid contact-tracing operations at the end of the month.
Staff at centres in Limerick and Galway are to be redeployed to other government departments at the start of next month.
Staff in Limerick are due to be transferred to work with the Department of Foreign Affairs in a passport call centre.
95,000 people sent in passport requests last month, with a 50-60% increase in the volumes of applications reported since Covid-related travel restrictions were lifted.
Travel journalist Eoghan Corry says straightforward renewal applications are being processed quickly:
"The online application process is running very smoothly. Anything complicated, like children's passports or first-time applications might take a bit longer due to paperwork. The same goes for someone that's allowed their passport to expire by more than 5 years".
Contact tracing staff in Galway will be asked to work with the Department of Equality to support its work with refugees from Ukraine.
The HSE says the remaining contact tracing centres in Cork and Dublin will operate at a reduced capacity
