Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 December 2013
447. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the waiting times at the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service at Burgh Quay; if there is a customer service policy; if there are any plans to improve waiting times and customer service at Burgh Quay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54171/13]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that its offices at Burgh Quay provides services in respect of registration of all Non-EEA persons who intend to reside in the State for longer than 90 days in respect of those living in the Dublin Metropolitan Region. This service is provided by the Garda National Immigration Bureau. In addition, the office also provides a public service for applicants seeking re-entry visas and this service is administered by INIS. Also, on a daily basis the office receives a number of callers seeking information or for other business. In total the number of persons attending the office is in the region of 130,000 per annum.
The nature of the services provided is such that it is demand led and accordingly, there are peaks and valleys in the numbers of callers at different times of the year. For example, there is marked increased demand for registrations during the period from late September to the end of November, linked to the academic year, when a significant number of students apply for first time registration or re-registration. Equally, there is increased demand for re-entry visa services in early summer prior to the holiday period and also before Christmas and Easter.
The Burgh Quay offices are open for registrations from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday – Thursday and 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Fridays. While this requires significant staff resources, the long opening hours is aimed at catering for applicants who may be studying or working and find it more convenient to come to the office outside of office hours. Specific times are set aside for certain categories of persons such as students. The public office for re-entry visas is open from 8 a.m. to approximately 2 p.m. Monday to Friday. However, in the vast majority of cases it is not necessary to attend in person for a re-entry visa as INIS operates a postal service which is a more efficient option for applicants. Where there are genuine emergencies and persons need to travel at short notice, INIS facilitates such persons to be dealt with in person.
My Department’s customer service charter encompasses INIS and the organisation is continually seeking to improve the quality of services provided to customers. A major overall of the public reception facilities in Burgh Quay with expanded dedicated areas for dealing with the public has recently been completed. In addition, the immigration service is planning to introduce an on-line booking system for appointments which is part of a wider plan to transfer the registration function from the Garda National Immigration Bureau to INIS. The aim of the booking system is to give certainty to customers that they will be dealt with within a stated time window and at the same time enabling the immigration service to match its staff resources to meet demand at any particular time. The new reception facilities have been designed to cater for such a system.
Finally, I might add that this office is probably one of the busiest Public Offices with some of the longest opening times in the State. As I indicated earlier, around 130,000 persons attend the Burgh Quay office each year, which I am sure the Deputy will appreciate presents ongoing logistical challenges. I am advised that over the past 18 months there has been no unmanageable issues with queues taking into account the scale of the operation involved. I am confident that the measures outlined above will further improve the services provided to its customers calling to this office.
