Brian Walsh (Galway West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason for the recent increase in the fee for an Immigration Certificate of Registration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52729/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I refer the Deputy to my reply to Dáil Questions Nos. 153, 155, 156 & 157 of the 22 November (below) which deals with the recent increase in fees for the issue of a Certificate of Registration under the Immigration Act, 2004.

Section 9 of the Immigration Act, 2004 provides that a register of non-nationals who have permission to be in the State (in general for a period of three months or longer) shall be established and maintained by registration officers. Registration officers are members of An Garda Síochána: in the Dublin Metropolitan Area, it is the officer in charge of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB); outside of that area it is the Superintendent of An Garda Síochána in a Garda Síochána district. The Act provides that a non-national is required to pay a fee to the registration officer for the issue of a registration certificate. This fee is set by regulations made by the Minister for Justice and Equality with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. There is no requirement to consult with other bodies when contemplating a revision of these or other fees. Moreover, it is difficult to see what useful purpose would be served by such an exercise as it is unlikely that affected parties or their representatives would signal support for such an increase. The fee was first introduced in 2006 and was then set at €100. It was increased to €150 in 2008 and remained at that level until the latest increase came into effect on 19 November, 2012.

The introduction of the registration fee in May, 2006 resulted from a policy decision that the fee income was required for the ongoing development of immigration services - both in the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) and the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB). Our migrant population have made a valuable contribution to the economic, cultural and social life of Ireland and will continue to do so. However, I believe that it is not unreasonable to ask those who benefit from the immigration system to make a reasonable contribution to the cost of services and particularly so in a time when we are seeking to reduce public expenditure. It is common practice throughout Europe to charge a fee for immigration services; in some instances these may be set at a level above the estimated direct administrative cost of the service based on the value of the service. By comparison with many jurisdictions the current registration fee represents very good value.

I am also very conscious of the need to maintain and develop good service levels to customers. In this regard, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department is undertaking a number of projects with the aim of developing and improving immigration services. These include the introduction of a new common format EU Residence Permit for non-nationals which will replace the current registration certificate. It will provide the user with a more secure immigration document including individual biometrics indicators protected by a sophisticated encryption system and showing the holders’ immigration status in the State. This high quality, secure document will be easily recognisable for employers and Government agencies.

Furthermore, INIS as part of its reform of in-country aspects of immigration services, is developing a range of measures including on line application and appointment systems for certain services. Such a service is badly needed, but it costs money to implement. The nature of immigration requirements such as registration necessitates, to a very great extent, the personal attendance of the applicant. At certain times of the year this can give rise to long queues and significant delays. A self-selecting online system will help to greatly alleviate these difficulties and the increased registration fee income will be used to meet a portion of the cost involved in this and other developments.

Other projects being progressed are proposals for the civilianisation of certain port of entry functions at Dublin Airport. For this purpose, a trial is underway at Dublin airport to test the feasibility of a new model for delivery of immigration services at ports of entry to the State by using a combination of civilian staff and members of An Garda Síochána. I refer the Deputy to my answer to Dáil Question No. 171 of 4 October, 2012 which sets out the latest position in respect of this project.

In recognition of the circumstances of certain categories of person, there are specific exemptions from paying the registration fee set out in the regulations; these are the following:

- UN Convention Refugees;

- Family members of such refugees who have been admitted to the State in accordance with section 18 of the Refugee Act 1996;

- Persons who are under 18 years of age at the time of registration;

- Spouses, civil partners, widows and widowers of Irish citizens;

- Spouses and Dependants of EU nationals who receive a residence permit under EU Directive 38/04;

- Programme Refugees, as defined by section 24 of the Refugee Act, 1996;

- Persons subject to arrangements for victims of human trafficking.

The above categories of non-nationals exempted from the fee payment are almost 20% of the total numbers registering. Last year alone, this amounted to 21, 443 persons and €3.2 million in fees waived".