2439. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the average processing times fors Stamp 4 visa renewals, broken down by the applicant’s nationality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62413/26]

2440. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the average processing times for stamp 4 visa applications, broken down by the applicant’s nationality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62414/26]

2441. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he is conscious of the impact that the delays in processing stamp 4 visa renewals is having on applicants and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62415/26]

2442. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he is conscious of the impact that the delays in processing stamp 4 visa applications is having on applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62416/26]

2443. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration his views on whether existing staffing levels are sufficient to ensure efficient visa application processing times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62417/26]

2444. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the steps he is taking to ensure that all visa applications are processed in a timely manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62418/26]

2641. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the reasons for the current delays in individuals applying for GNIB cards. [64053/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2439, 2440, 2441, 2442, 2443, 2444 and 2641 together.

The Registration Office of my Department continues to experience exceptionally high demand for first-time registration appointments and immigration permission renewal applications.

I understand that the extended waiting times can be frustrating for applicants, and I can assure the Deputy that my Department is utilising every available avenue 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 in processing both first-time registration appointments and online renewals, with significant additional staff assigned to this work. This is having an impact, and waiting times are reducing. I expect them to reduce further over the coming months.

I am happy to inform the Deputy that the time taken for a Stamp 4 renewal application to be reached for processing after submission has been significantly reduced in recent weeks, from over 17 weeks to fewer than 11 weeks. Work is continuing to further reduce this timeframe.

The processing times for individual nationalities are not recorded by my Department. Immigration renewal applications are processed chronologically based on permission stamp type rather than nationality. The Registration Office provides a live processing date for each 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/#processing.

Customers may submit their renewal application up to 12 weeks prior to the expiry of their permission to allow sufficient time for the application to be reached and processed before their current permission expires.

The standard 12-week provision remains in place, as does the notice to employers regarding any concerns individuals may have about their eligibility to work while their application is being processed. Further information is available at:

www.irishimmigration.ie/registering-your-immigration-permission/how-to-renew-your-current-permission/notice-to-employers/.