Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 October 2020
608. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Justice the status of Irish residency permit card renewals; the current turnaround time; if there is a procedure in place for urgent applicants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28583/20]
View answerSignificant demand accumulated during the four months that the Registration Office was closed due to COVID-19. To assist in addressing this demand, a new online system for the renewal of Registrations in the Dublin area was developed and launched on 20 July, enabling applicants to safely engage with the Registration Office without the need to attend in person at Burgh Quay.
All renewals in the Dublin area are being processed online only since 20 July 2020, at: https://inisonline.jahs.ie. Renewals outside of the Dublin area are processed by the Garda National Immigration Bureau through the Garda Station network. Information is available at: https://www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/office-of-corporate-communications/news-media/reopening-of-registration-offices.html
Since the launch of the new online renewal system, my Department has received over 30,000 applications. The volume of applications, together with the reduced capacity of the Registration Office due to social distancing requirements, has resulted in longer than anticipated processing times. The current expected processing time is 6 to 7 weeks from the date of receipt. However, my officials have already completed approximately 14,000 of these cases.
The Registration Office has also processed over 5,000 in-person first time registrations since reopening the Public Office in August 2020. First time registrations require the taking of biometric information (fingerprints) so it is not possible to do these registrations online.
My Department recognises the difficulties that delays may cause for applicants and it is providing additional resources to the Registration Office to increase its capacity to handle current demand. Where an applicant urgently needs their passport for travel or other such reasons, they should email the Registration Office at burghquayregoffice@justice.ie and set out the circumstances involved.
On 18 September 2020, I announced a further temporary extension of immigration and international protection permissions to 20 January 2021. This applies to permissions that are due to expire between 20 September 2020 and 20 January 2021. Renewal is on the same basis as the existing permission and the same conditions will continue to apply. The extension provides applicants with the necessary time to make arrangements with the Immigration Service in Dublin or An Garda Síochána outside Dublin to ensure that registrations are renewed in the normal way by that date. I encourage people to do so at the earliest opportunity and not to wait until January 2021.
