Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 April 2026
868. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Health if her attention has been drawn to the impact on certain nurses and pharmacists facing difficulty in continuing their education and workplace attendance due to delays in the renewal of IRP cards (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28477/26]
View answerOfficials in the Department of Health engage with colleagues across government departments, regulators and the health services to ensure professionals are supported to enter employment and to ensure continuity in the delivery of health services.
Specific to pharmacy professionals, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) has concluded a procurement process to appoint a provider to deliver the Third Country Qualification Recognition (TCQR) examination. It is currently expected that a minimum of two TCQR examination sittings will be delivered later this year, with one planned for Quarter 3 and a second planned for Quarter 4 of 2026. The PSI will communicate further operational details directly to candidates in due course
The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration advises that the Registration Office within Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) is currently experiencing an exceptionally high demand for immigration permission renewal applications.
ISD understand that the extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants, and the Deputy can be assured that every avenue available is being explored to facilitate as many customers as possible and to increase processing capacity.
The Registration Office is already open seven days a week to facilitate customers, with further measures to reduce processing times currently being implemented. Additional staff have been assigned to this work, and further assignments are being examined. This is expected to begin to address the delays currently being experienced.
The Registration Office provide a live application processing date broken down by stamp category, which is updated every Monday, and is available at the following link: www.irishimmigration.ie/registering-your-immigration-permission/how-to-renew-your-current-permissio…
To ensure a fair and equitable service, renewals are generally processed in order of date submitted. Customers may submit their renewal applications up to 12 weeks prior to expiry of permission, to allow sufficient time for an application to be reached and processed prior to a current permission expiring.
The Registration Office has also issued a notice to employers regarding the legality of employing someone awaiting renewal. This notice can be found here: www.irishimmigration.ie/notice-to-employers-regarding-employees-awaiting-renewal-of-their-irp-card/
