Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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513. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to update and improve the immigration service’s online registration process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7051/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My Department's Registration Office in Burgh Quay is responsible for registering and renewing immigration permissions for customers residing in the Dublin area only. Registrations outside of the Dublin area are processed by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) through the Garda Station network.

The immigration service of my department continually reviews its processes, including enhanced digitalisation measures, to ensure we are meeting customer demands.

The process of renewing immigration permissions for customers residing in the Dublin area moved from an in-person appointment in the Burgh Quay Immigration Office to an online portal in July 2020. To date, over 190,000 applications have been processed through this system. The online renewal application is available at: inisonline.jahs.ie. Anyone renewing their immigration permission with a new passport can also now upload their passport bio-data page online.

As part of my 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 based customers to register their immigration permission are now issued through this service.

In April 2021, the new Customer Service Helpdesk was launched. Dublin based customers in need of assistance or who have urgent requirements can email my Department at immigrationsupport@justice.ie. This is staffed by the Registration Office customer service team, who are available to support and process their requests.