Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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527. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will report on changes to be made in the Garda National Immigration Bureau, to end long queues outside its office on Burgh Quay in Dublin 2; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21258/15]

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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531. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps she is taking to remedy the long queues and delays at the Garda National Immigration Bureau offices for both Bureau cards and multi-entry visas, that begin as early as 4:00 am; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21431/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 527 and 531 together.

The Public Office situated at Burgh Quay, Dublin 2 provides services to non-national persons to obtain permission to remain in the State and to register their presence in the State in accordance with the Immigration Act, 2004. This office provides those services to non-nationals who are resident in the Dublin Metropolitan area. This service is currently run by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB), An Garda Síochána.

The Visa section of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS), Department of Justice & Equality also operate from this office to issue re-entry visas to non nationals travelling outside the State who require such a visa to return to the State.

In relation to the visa services provided, the Deputies will be aware. that there was, during December last, an unprecedented level of demand for re-entry visas – well above volumes of previous years - which led to long queues forming. Decisive immediate action was taken with significant additional resources re-deployed to the re-entry visa office with the result that by the end of the first week in December all persons who came to the public office were dealt with on the same day.

To avoid a recurrence of such unexpected demand and queues developing, I asked my officials to bring forward their proposals for the introduction of an on-line appointment service for the re-entry visa process. Design of the system is at an advanced stage and is expected to be in place shortly. I should reiterate that applications for re-entry visas may be made by post so there is no necessity to attend at the public office and I would urge applicants to make as full use of this service as possible.

Extensive arrangements in place to deal with demand at Burgh Quay office which is one of the busiest public offices in the State with approx 130,000 people per annum attending in person at the office. Specifically, in relation to the GNIB The GNIB public office is one of the busiest in the State and at its peak period from September to mid November, when student registrations are at their highest, it will process up to 500 persons per day. Special arrangements are put in place in September, October and November to facilitate the registration of students in major public and private colleges. Periods of time in these months are set aside in the public office of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB), specifically for registration of students.

The GNIB personnel who are employed there operate a shift system, which ensures it is open 13 hours a day from 8am to 9pm each Monday to Thursday and 8am to 6pm each Friday (excluding bank holidays) and remains open through lunchtime. A numbered ticket issuing system is operated at this registration office, thus ensuring those attending are dealt with on a 'first come first served’' basis. In addition those attending are advised of the approximate time that they will be dealt with, which allows them to leave the office and return later in the day, if they so wish. A GNIB officer is also deployed to meet with each non national on arrival at the office to ensure that they are in possession of all of the necessary documentation that is required for registration, so that delays are avoided. Last year the office opened on some Saturdays to deal with the high level of demand in the autumn peak. In recent weeks the Garda National Immigration Bureau with the assistance of the Garda Press Office has established an alert on the "latest news" section on the home page of the Garda Síochána Website for the purpose of assisting persons who are required to attend at Burgh Quay for registration. On three separate occasions during each day an alert is posted on the Garda Website alerting persons to the number of available tickets remaining at Burgh Quay.

Tickets are not issued to non-nationals whose registration relates to their presence in Ireland for study related purposes, until after 9am so as to facilitate those non-nationals whose permission to reside in the State is work related and who attend at the office between 8am and 9am. The Garda National Immigration Bureau endeavours to provide a 'same day service', for non-nationals who pay the required fee for a 'registration certificate' by way of Debit/Credit card. A person paying the said fee by way of 'bank giro' is required to return to the registration office on another day when the said payment has been verified, for the purpose of being issued with a registration certificate. Otherwise, a situation where a non-national is required to attend at the registration office on a second day will usually arise only where he/she attends at the office at a time of the day when a significant number of persons availing of the registration service who have arrived earlier in the day, have yet to be attended to.

It is a requirement of the registration function that persons seeking to register present in person to their local registration office. This is necessary for establishment of identity and as an anti-fraud measure and is the practice of immigration services worldwide. The registration process includes an interview with the person, the examination of relevant documentation, photographing and biometric capture and the issuing of a registration certificate. It also includes the placing of the appropriate permission to remain endorsement on the passport of the person concerned. It should also be noted that for most persons, renewal of their registration is at most a yearly requirement and that for the majority of customers the GNIB provides a same day serviceat its Burgh Quay office.

As I indicated in earlier replies on this matter, it is my intention to transfer the registration of non nationals from An Garda Síochána to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service. This work is underway and it is also intended to develop customer services such as on-line booking systems to ensure greater certainty for the customer.

I place a high value on customer service and both GNIB and INIS will continue to examine and introduce any practical changes to improve the customer experience and to ameliorate demand. Naturally, any public office operates with a fixed capacity and at particularly busy periods and not withstanding any arrangements put in place, there may be occasions when, based on the numbers seeking to register and estimated processing times, processing capacity is reached for that day; persons attending beyond that point will be asked to return at another time. In such circumstances GNIB & INIS manage demand on the day in a sensible, proactive and safe manner. There is no necessity for people to queue outside of office opening hours.