As outlined in responses to previous parliamentary questions, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department became aware in September of customers experiencing difficulties booking registration appointments. Some of these difficulties had arisen because third party agents had been able to secure multiple appointments through the use of automatic software.
A set of software fixes was introduced in mid-September to prevent this abuse of the system. As far as can be determined, this software update has been successful in preventing the block-booking of appointments by third party agents. The system is being regularly monitored in this regard.
The period September to November is the busiest time for registrations with many student registrations in addition to the usual workload of the office. A number of measures were taken to increase the capacity of the office, including the assignment of additional staff to the Registration Office, extending working hours and opening the office for registrations on most Saturdays and some Sundays. These measures are aimed at ensuring that as many appointments as possible are made available each day. INIS is continuing these measures into December to ensure demand is met.
It is the responsibility of the customer to arrange a renewal appointment in good time if their registration permission is due to expire, and INIS does not issue pre-expiry notifications.
As regards re-entry visas, if an individual is visa-required, they may apply for a re-entry visa while they are in the State. Applications should be submitted by post 6 weeks in advance of travel. A number of emergency re-entry visa applications appointments are made available daily, and can be booked on-line. Alternatively applicants who are visa-required may apply for an entry visa from outside the State to return to Ireland. Individuals who are not visa required need not do so and can explain the purpose of their trip to the border official on return to the State.