Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2026
484. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the grace period for a stamp 4 renewal can be extended to cover the processing period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52626/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra488. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if Stamp 4 renewals which are applied for in-time and are eligible for the 12-week grace period often exceed those 12-weeks; if he is satisfied that the grace period sufficiently covers the reality of the current processing times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52666/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra492. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether a grace period or other temporary arrangements will be provided for applicants who submitted their Stamp 4 renewal applications within the recommended 16-week lead time but whose applications remain pending due to processing delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52697/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra523. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of persons who successfully renewed their visa in 2025; the number that are currently waiting in excess of 12 weeks; the number that were waiting in excess of 12 weeks in 2025; the number that have applied to renew to date in 2026; of those who were successful in their application to renew in 2026, the number that had to wait in excess of 12 weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52947/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra571. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of IRP renewal applications refused by his Department per month in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53532/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra587. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he is aware that Irish banks (details supplied) are not acknowledging the right of residence permit renewal applicants who have applied in advance of current card expiry to remain lawfully resident for a 12-week period post expiry, resulting in their accounts being frozen; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53667/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 484, 488, 492, 523, 571 and 587 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 utilising every avenue available to facilitate as many applicants as quickly 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, with significant additional staff assigned to this work. This is having an impact and wait times are reducing, and I expect times to reduce further over the summer months.
In the meantime, I can advise the Deputy that earlier this week I published an updated interim employer notice and a notice to facilitate customers travelling during the summer months to alleviate pressure on applicants while the Department continues to reduce the wait times.
Where 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 permitted to work and to remain in the State until 31 August 2026. This applies to all expired IRP cards regardless of the number of weeks elapsed, but is subject to the applicant submitting their renewal application prior to their current IRP card expiring. Further information on this notice can be found at the following link: www.irishimmigration.ie/minster-announces-interim-notice-to-employers-regarding-renewal-of-registration/
It is important to note that the existing Notice to Employers (www.irishimmigration.ie/registering-your-immigration-permission/how-to-renew-your-current-permission/notice-to-employers/) will continue to apply after 31 August 2026.
Furthermore, the previous travel arrangements made for people awaiting a renewal of their IRP card who intend to travel has been reinstated until 31 August 2026. People may use their recently expired IRP card to travel until the end of August 2026, provided an application to renew their registration permission was submitted in advance of the expiry date of their IRP Card. Further information can be found on the ISD website at the following link: www.irishimmigration.ie/isd-announces-initiative-to-facilitate-customers-travelling-during-the-summer-months/
While the Registration Office endeavours to process applications as quickly as possible, processing times for each stamp category 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 objective is to reducing the timelines across all categories to more sustainable levels.
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-permission/renewing-your-registration-permission-if-you-live-in-the-republic-of-ireland/
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 portal.irishimmigration.ie/en/.
I can advise the Deputy that my Department receives approximately 20,000 renewal applications per month, and over 147,000 renewal applications have been approved so far in 2026, up to 30 June. In 2025, 233,823 immigration permissions were successfully renewed.
The information requested on the number of renewal applications that are currently waiting in excess of 12 weeks, that exceeded 12 weeks in 2025, or that have been refused/withdrawn is not readily available. To source this information would require the manual examination of each individual renewal processed. Such an examination would require a disproportionate amount of time to compile and would deflect resources from processing applications.
