Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 May 2024
448. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the length of the waiting list in Limerick, Dublin, Cork and Galway for appointments to apply for Irish residency permits; and if she will clarify whether language schools can submit group applications for visiting students to expedite the process due to the delays in issuing permits versus the duration they are valid for. [22811/24]
View answerMy Department's Registration Office in Burgh Quay is responsible for registering immigration permissions for non-EU/EEA/UK/Swiss nationals residing in the Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow areas only, including the online renewal system. As part of the Department’s ongoing work to meet the demand for first-time registration appointments, on 10 January 2022, a Freephone service (1800 800 630) was introduced for customers. The current operating hours are 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and all appointments for Dublin, Kildare, Meath, and Wicklow-based customers to register their immigration permission are issued through this service. Appointment slots are released up to 3 months ahead, with the earliest currently available typically within 1 week. The Immigration Service website provides a live update for Dublin, Kildare, Meath, and Wicklow-based renewals being processed on its website and is currently processing applications submitted the week commencing 08 April 2024. Group applications are not accepted for registration. An individual application is required. An Garda Síochána has responsibility for the first registration and renewal of immigration residence permissions for non-EU/EEA UK/Swiss nationals residing outside of the Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow areas. I have no role in regard to the scheduling of these appointments. The Garda Commissioner has advised that the current approximate waiting times apply for a registration appointment in Cork is 16 weeks, in Galway is 11 weeks and in Limerick is between 16 - 18 weeks.
My Department and An Garda Síochána continue to engage intensively on the transfer of certain immigration functions to my Department. In April the registration of immigration residence permissions for counties Meath, Kildare and Wicklow, transferred from An Garda Síochána to my Department, which is already responsible for Dublin. It is intended that my Department will assume responsibility for registrations nationwide, the transfer is expected to be substantially completed within the next 12 months.
