'You are waiting five months for an appointment': Nurses demand action on Cork permit delays

MEMBERS of the Cork Organisation for Indian Nurses (COINNs) are calling for urgent action to address delays at Anglesea Street Garda Station for Irish Residence Permits (IRP) renewals. 

Nurses from the organisation held a protest outside the garda yesterday to highlight the issue. 

Jithin Ganesh, a nurse at Cork University Hospital, told The Echo that the issue arose during the pandemic when the service changed from a walk-in facility to appointment only. 

"We can’t apply early. We can only apply 30 days before the permit expires, then you are waiting five months for the appointment.” 

He said that the issue affects people of all nationalities and for many people, this means losing their job.

“This is a problem only in Cork city – we respect this system and love this country, but Dublin has more immigrants yet no backlog because you can renew online.

“In Fermoy, Mallow, Macroom you can get an appointment fast, but it is a rule that you have to go to the closest station.” 

COINNS members have called for an online renewal system to be put in place in Cork, in addition to an emergency walk-in counter for urgent cases. 

Mr Ganesh explained how a family member back in India is seriously ill, but he cannot go back home to see them, as “If you go back to India without an IRP, you cannot come back to Ireland.” 

He said that he and his wife like to travel to other places in Europe, but can’t until his IRP is renewed, “but by the time I get mine, my wife’s is going to be expired, so we have to wait again.” 

Rijo, another of the protestors, said that his wife had a bereavement in the family recently but could not go back to India, and that one woman in attendance has two young children in India and she cannot go to collect them.

Another attendee, Medha, said that her husband passed his driving test, but because he did not have an IRP due to the delays, they won’t send him his license, so the couple has no transport.

People Before Profit-Solidarity councillor for Cork City North-West Brian McCarthy, who was at the protest, said that the situation was unacceptable.

“A five-month wait means they have trouble getting jobs, securing accommodation and they can't open bank accounts. 

"Worst of all if they have a family emergency back home they can't go back or they won't be able to get back into Ireland.

“In Dublin, protests by the migrant workers led to the system being moved online so now that needs to happen in Cork too. They play an important role here, in healthcare for example, and they can't be left in this legal limbo any longer.” 

A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana said they have seen a year-on-year increase in demand for immigration-related appointments in Cork Garda Division.

“Local Garda management monitor the caseload on an ongoing basis. Applications are triaged to identify urgent cases which are prioritised. People are required to register with their local Garda National Immigration Bureau in the Registration District in which they reside.” 

They added that the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland (COFPI) recommended that immigration administrative functions should transfer from the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) to the Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) function of the Department of Justice and that this process has begun.