Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 July 2026
141. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of IRP renewal applications received by his Department per month in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51960/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra142. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of IRP renewal applications approved by his Department per month in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51961/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra143. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of physical IRPs issued by his Department per month in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51963/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra159. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he is aware of the current delays being experienced by people trying to secure IRP renewals (details supplied); and the steps currently being taken to reduce them. [52166/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra161. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he can clarify the situation for a person in an instance where their Stamp 4 work permit expires while the individual is awaiting the renewal of their Irish residence permit (IRP) card, particularly in an instance where the wait for the IRP card has gone beyond the twelve week grace period; if he is aware that delays in IRP renewals processing means that employers are seeking clarity on their obligations when a Stamp 4 expires during this limbo period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52229/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 141, 142, 143, 159 and 161 together.
The Registration Office of my Department continues to experience an exceptionally high demand for first time registration appointments and immigration permission renewal applications.
I understand that the extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants, and I can assure the Deputy that my Department is exploring every avenue available to facilitate as many customers as possible and to increase processing capacity.
The Registration Office is open seven days a week to facilitate customers to process both first time registration appointments and online renewals. Additional staff have been assigned to this work, which has now begun to reduce the processing time for renewals. For certain categories of renewals, the processing time is now approximately 6 - 8 weeks from the time of initial application, with no category exceeding a wait time of 17 weeks.
The Registration Office provide a live application processing date broken down by stamp category, which is updated every Monday, and is available on the Immigration Service website at the following link: www.irishimmigration.ie/registering-your-immigration-permission/how-to-renew-your-current-permission/renewing-your-registration-permission-if-you-live-in-the-republic-of-ireland/.
While my Department endeavours to process applications as quickly as possible, processing times may vary due to a number of factors, such as the number of applications on hand, individual circumstances, the complexity of applications, whether further information is required, and peak application periods.
The Registration Office has issued a notice to employers regarding the employment of someone awaiting renewal. If an employee’s Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card has expired and they are unable to obtain a new one by the expiry date of their current IRP card, they are still legally permitted to remain in the State on their existing IRP card for a maximum of 12 weeks.
This is subject to the applicant submitting their renewal application prior to their current IRP card expiring. Further information on this notice can be found here: www.irishimmigration.ie/notice-to-employers-regarding-employees-awaiting-renewal-of-their-irp-card/.
In addition, 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.
It is also open to any person to request to have their renewal application expedited due to extenuating circumstances, and they can do so by contacting the Registration team of the Department via the Customer Service Portal. They will need to explain their circumstances and the urgent need to travel. All such requests are considered on a case by case basis.
Applicants can now directly check the status of their immigration application on the Immigration Service’s Customer Service Portal. They can register for, or log in to their existing account, at https://portal.irishimmigration.ie/en/.
I can advise the Deputy that my Department receives approximately 20,000 renewal applications per month.
There has, however, been a significant increase in the number of renewal applications in the early months of this year as a large number of Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection became due for renewal; this has impacted on processing times for Stamp 4 renewals in particular.
The table below details the total number of renewal applications approved each month so far in 2026.
|
Month |
Number of renewals approved |
|
January 2026 |
21,280 |
|
February 2026 |
21,694 |
|
March 2026 |
20,145 |
|
April 2026 |
23,314 |
|
May 2026 |
27,477 |
|
June 2026 |
33,125 |
*Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.
When an online renewal application is approved, my Department orders the printing of batches of IRP cards from a third party provider, and applicants can expect to receive their new IRP card within the following 10-15 working days.
