James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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321. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will detail how many physical letters the Minister’s offices and the customer service team in the Department received from the public in 2024; whether those letters are digitised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18458/25]

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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322. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will detail how many emails the Minister’s offices and the customer service mailbox the Department received from the public in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18475/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 321 and 322 together.

My Department is committed to delivering high quality customer service to all of our customers, including members of the public. The approach of our service to customers is to be fair, friendly and sensitive and in accordance with the commitments and standards set by my Department's Customer Charter 2023-2025 which is published at www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Customer-Charter.

My Department utilises a correspondence management solution to process and manage correspondence in the Minister's and Minister of States' Offices. This application, provided by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer’s (OGCIO), is used to electronically manage correspondence in a single system. All letters received by post are logged on this platform and are not recorded by type. Therefore, the number of physical letters received by the Minister’s Office or Minister of State’s office in 2024 is not readily available.

In 2024, 51,346 representations were received by the Department. These included general queries and correspondence for the Minister's Office. A further 437 emails were received in the diary@justice.ie mailbox for the Minister's Office. In 2024, there was one Minister of State in my Department which received 535 representations.

In 2024, the customer service team in the International Protection Office (IPO) received 122,309 emails and 3,286 physical letters, which were not digitised. Across the rest of the Immigration function, 222,666 emails were received. Given the high volume of correspondence received, the number of physical letters relating specifically to customer service matters is not readily available.

In October 2024, a new Digital Contact Centre was launched in Immigration Service Delivery which offers enhanced digital services including appointment booking and status inquiries to immigration applicants via an online portal.

My Department also provides an opportunity for customer feedback through our mailbox customerservices@justice.ie. This received 120 emails and 2 physical letters which were digitised.