INIS Service Improvement Plan 2018-2020

Not sure if anyone has seen it, but good news for whoever is applying from this year onwards. It looks like there are some improvements to be implemented to the current process:

The INIS Service Improvement Plan 2018-2020 commits the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department to significant investment in technological developments including the roll-out of online forms and payments for citizenship applications. Such developments are expected to deliver significant improvements to customer experiences and processing timescales.

Source: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/qu ... %5D=number

But we are already on half way of this timeline of 2018-2020 plan and there are no changes so far. I don't expect anything being rolled out anytime soon.
There is no rocket science involved in providing an online application system, where people can enter their details using an online form, attach scanned copies of required document, the form should be already connected to GNIB database and can pull residency status of the applicant simply by using GNIB/IRP number, can be connected to Garda database to get any observation or criminal history, online payment and more importantly an online tracking system where people can track the status of their application online. This will drastically improve the performance and time required to process applications and also any hassle to calling on the phone line, email or written letters inquiring the status of an application. We are living in an era where we can track our pizza delivery service up to a minute level accuracy or Uber service to an exact location, but still, there is intentionally or unintentionally lack of will to bring technology at the INIS - Citizenship division to improve the system (INIS is already using online form and tracking/status update for normal visa applications).

When I asked one TD to raise voice on this matter, she rightly pointed out by saying, we are living in a country where people are dying on trollies and the waiting list for the cancer screening is long enough for people to reach the next stage of cancer before checkup, immigration system improvement should be less of a priority. Let's hope somebody realizes that pain and suffering of keeping people in uncertainty and improves this system one day.

To be fair, the plan was actually only put forward in October 2018, so it's merely 6 months from the publication of the plan.

It is a high level plan without any concrete details. The only thing regarding citizenship applications is "legal actions in Citizenship cases to be centralised in the existing LSSU".
They are going to assess which forms can be moved to online platform. Citizenship applications are relatively lower priority compared to GNIB registrations and those under free movement directive.

As an IT professional, I fully understand the challenges to integrate different systems into one. Yes in theory you can link a person's data in all different systems using a single identifier, but in reality that won't exist. Only non-EU nationals over 18 will have a GNIB number. For other people, there really isn't one. You can argue that passport number or the Public Service Card may be used as an identifier, but passport numbers can change and a person can have dual citizenship, while rolling out Public Service Card has met with enormous obstacles in terms of privacy concerns.

Then, you have the most realistic obstacle - money. Implementing a new system costs money. A lot of money. Integrating different systems costs even more money. And these integration attempts often fail at the initial assessment stage - by then you will have already spent quite a lot of money. DOJ will need a very solid reason in the parliament as to why they need taxpayers' money on this instead of on healthcare etc.

But yeah I don't understand why they don't have some basic online features, like online submission and online tracking. These should be rather straightforward and they don't cost a fortune to implement. Maybe it's just because they are not a priority compared to other applications...

One interesting point to take from the plan is: "The role of INIS has extended to encompass Border Management and Registration services exacerbating existing challenges. The IT system that supports these services, GNIB-IS, is outdated. Support for the operating system has not been available since 2008."

As a country that advertises its investment on ICT sector post financial crisis, this is just ridiculous.

They implemented online application system for the student scheme. That didn't make no difference as people are waiting since October 2018 till now with little to no update at all.