Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD has today (Thursday) announced the launch of the Digital Contact Centre (DCC) for the immigration function of the Department, with effect from 24 October 2024.

The DCC is a self-service portal that will enable immigration customers to book and amend first-time registration appointments, replacing the need for them to call a contact centre to arrange such an appointment.

The new system will also allow people to check the status of their applications, and over time will allow people to raise queries in relation to visas, registration, domestic residence permissions, travel documents, EU treaty rights and Citizenship applications.

Welcoming this modernisation initiative, Minister McEntee stated:

“It gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of the Digital Contact Centre as it marks a significant milestone in the digitisation of the immigration function of my Department.

“This new innovative and streamlined online platform will replace old helpdesk systems and will enable my Department to handle queries faster and provide a more efficient service to our customers.”

The Department is in the process of modernising its immigration systems to provide a more transparent and accessible system for its customers. The Minister has backed this modernisation as part of Budget 2025, and has allocated an additional €25m for investment in the immigration system as a whole.

The Minister went on to say:

“Today’s announcement is a significant step in my Department’s Immigration modernisation programme and I am delighted to make our services more accessible and responsive to the public’s needs.

“Putting our customers at the heart of our work is a driving factor for this investment and modernisation”.

Almost half of queries received by Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) in the Department are customers seeking updates on their applications. This new system empowers our customers to receive updates and information in a more efficient manner and will allow staff within ISD to devote more time to processing applications.