Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 September 2020
948. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice if the necessary changes will be put in place in order to reduce the waiting time for appointments at Anglesea Street Garda Station, Cork in respect of the renewal of visas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22105/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraMeasures to safely re-open the Registration Office at Anglesea Street Garda station in Cork city have been put in place by An Garda Síochána.
Registrations at the Anglesea Street Garda station are now by way of appointment only. A dedicated email address - CorkCity.Immigration@garda.ie - has been set up for appointment applications. This information is also available from the website of An Garda Síochána at: https://www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/office-of-corporate-communications/news-media/reopening-of-registration-offices.html
Registrations recommenced in mid-July under the new appointment system, which is working well. The new system was required to reduce the numbers of people visiting the office in order to ensure that public health guidelines were met. The new measures have also ended the need for people to queue for a considerable amount of time, as in previous years.
Applicants receive an automated response to their query and are then advised of an available appointment in due course.
I am advised that there are three teller positions at the Immigration Office at Anglesea Street. However, in order to comply with social distancing measures only two of these positions are open at any one time. The office is open for registrations from 08:30 hrs to 12:00 hrs and from 14:00 hrs to 16:00 hrs Monday to Friday.
An Garda Síochána advises that there is currently a backlog of about 2,000 emails to be cleared. In some cases, applicants are sending multiple requests, which unfortunately has led to duplicate appointments being issued. Additionally, many applicants are replying to the automated response, which is adding to the time taken to process the email applications.
Two additional staff members have been tasked with assisting in the handling of the email applications and issuing appointments. It is currently taking approximately 4 weeks from the date when the initial query is made to when the applicant is advised of their appointment date, with appointments being scheduled between 4-8 weeks thereafter. Therefore, from initial contact to registration it is currently taking between 8-12 weeks.
