Parliamentary Question addressed to the Minister for Justice and Equality

To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality when the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service plans to introduce an online booking system for appointments; and if she will make a statement on the matter?

Reply

In the case of the registration process, and as occurs in the operation of immigration functions in other States, immigrants seeking to register are required to present in person at the offices of the Minister. This is necessary for establishment of identity and as an anti-fraud measure. Accordingly, systems will be developed that meet the needs of our customers while at the same time maintaining appropriate checks and balances within the system.

I should point out that within existing arrangements every effort is made to provide a customer friendly service. The GNIB Public Office is open from 8am to 9pm each Monday to Thursday and 8am to 6pm each Friday (excluding bank holidays). The Offices also remains open through lunchtime.  Priority is given in the early morning period for particular categories including those coming here to work or conduct business with tickets for persons registering their presence in Ireland for study related purposes being allocated after 9am (special arrangements are in place for students during the period September €“ Mid November to cover the return to studies period). This is to minimise the amount of time persons at work are required to be away from their jobs. It is worth noting that the public immigration offices receive in the region of 130,000 persons annually making it one of the busiest public offices in the State.