1305. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the percentage of visa renewals going beyond the stipulated processing times; the steps his Department is taking to speed up processing times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41637/26]

1355. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current average processing times for Irish residence permit (IRP) renewals; the steps being taken to address ongoing delays and backlogs within immigration service delivery; whether he is considering the introduction of a further temporary extension to the validity of IRP cards in light of reported processing delays exceeding 12 weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42372/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1305 and 1355 together.

I understand the Deputy has clarified that his query relates to immigration permissions renewals and I can advise that the Registration Office of my Department is currently experiencing an exceptionally high demand for 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 14 weeks.

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: [][Renewing your registration permission if you live in the Republic of Ireland - Immigration Service Delivery] (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/).

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/registering-your-immigration-permission/how-to-renew-your-current-permission/notice-to-employers/

If a person has any queries relating to their immigration permission or renewal, they can contact the registration office using my Departments Customer Service Portal. The Customer Service Portal can be accessed at the following link: [www.portal.irishimmigration.ie/en/]

Details on how to submit a query to the registration office can be found at the following link: www.irishimmigration.ie/registering-your-immigration-permission/submitting-registration-or-renewal-queries/ .

While all immigration matters are kept under constant review, currently, there are no plans to introduce measures along the lines suggested by the Deputy.