Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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735. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will request the Irish National Immigration Service to respond to this Deputy in relation to various correspondence sent to it regarding the case of persons (details supplied) for the return of their documents. [38442/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The immigration registrations of the persons referred to by the Deputy have been completed. Any documentation submitted as part of this process was returned to them on 4 November 2020, by the Immigration Service of my Department.

Significant demand accumulated during the four months that the Registration Office was closed earlier this year due to COVID-19. To assist in addressing this demand, a new online system for the renewal of registrations in the Dublin area was developed and launched on 20 July 2020, enabling applicants to safely engage with the Registration Office without the need to attend in person at Burgh Quay.

Since the launch of the new online renewal system, my Department has received over 43,000 applications, and my officials have already completed approximately 38,000 of these cases.

My Department recognises the difficulties that delays may cause for applicants and it is providing additional resources to the Registration Office to increase its capacity to handle current demand. Where an applicant urgently needs their passport for travel or other such reasons, they should email the Registration Office at burghquayregoffice@justice.ieand set out the circumstances involved.