Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 February 2022
548. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to the difficulties faced by customers trying to get an appointment in the Dublin area to register their presence in Ireland with immigration service delivery in order to get an Irish residence permit (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5866/22]
View answerAs a result of the unavoidable delays created from the closing of the Registration Office in Burgh Quay during Covid-19 restrictions, and the reduced capacity guidelines when open, a high number of customers are now coming forward to seek an appointment. As of 31 January 2022, the Registration Office of my Department is operating at 70% capacity, and under current plans will increase to 100% capacity in mid February.
As part of my Department’s ongoing work to meet the current unprecedented demand for first-time registration appointments, on 10 January 2022, a Freephone service (1800 741 741) was introduced for customers. It is currently operating 12 hours a day from Monday to Friday (8am to 8pm) and 8 hours a day on Saturday and Sunday (9am to 5pm). There are between 15 and 20 customer service representatives taking calls and making appointments. All appointments for customers to register their immigration permission are now issued through this service, with operators offering one appointment per call, unless it is for an identifiable family group. There are currently 9,631 first time registration appointments booked up to 29 April 2022 via the Freephone service. This equates to almost two-thirds of the total number of first time registrations completed in 2021 (15,125).
Additionally, the Registration Office processed 66,321 online renewals and issued 6,805 re-entry visas during 2021.
The current appointment system has been suspended and a new Immigration Service appointment and scheduling system, which will streamline and further improve the registration process, is currently being developed and is expected to be available to customers shortly.
Since July 2020, all Dublin based customers seeking to renew their immigration permission can do so online at inisonline.jahs.ie/user/login .
The Registration Office’s customer service team is also available to support customers who may have language difficulties or may need assistance with translation. A number of multi-lingual videos describing the registration process and what to expect are available on our website www.irishimmigration.ie .
Any prospective Irish employer must first obtain an employment permit if intending to employ a non-EEA national for more than 90 days. Should the non-EEA person be successful in securing an employment permit, they must, if required, make an application for a visa that will allow them permission to travel to the State. Matters relating to employment permits do not fall within my remit and are a matter for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Further information can be found on that Department's website at: www.enterprise.gov.ie .
