Migrant workers are currently paying €300 for the IRP and then waiting up to 16 weeks for it to arrive.

In its pre-budget submission for Budget 2027, MRCI is calling for the €300 IRP fee — paid annually by non-EU workers including healthcare assistants, chefs, agri-food workers and bus drivers — to be capped at €75 for first-time registrations and €55 for renewals. The card costs the State just €20.44 to produce and deliver.

The MRCI is also calling for a 30 per cent increase in staffing at Immigration Service Delivery’s registration division, after applicants faced delays of up to 16 weeks throughout 2026. Registrations rose 138 per cent, from 133,058 in 2021 to 316,347 in 2025, while staffing at the division grew by just 71 per cent over the same period, reaching 93.1 whole-time equivalent (FTE) staff in June 2026, up from 89.1 in 2024.

Director of MRCI Neil Bruton said: “This fee is completely unfair, and the service migrants are getting for it now makes that even clearer. People are paying €300 a year for a card that costs a fraction of that to produce, then waiting months for it to arrive. We hear from workers who’ve lost their jobs, missed out on job opportunities, or couldn’t travel home even when a family member became seriously ill or died. Many are going without groceries or clothing to cover an exorbitant fee which raises almost €80 million in revenue each year.”

At €300, Ireland’s IRP fee is one of the highest in Europe for a comparable service — three times Germany’s €100, and several multiples of Portugal’s €85.80, Luxembourg’s €80, Switzerland’s €42, Spain’s €16.08–€21.87 and Greece’s €16. It is four times the cost of an Irish passport (€75) and more than four times the cost of a driving licence (€65), both of which last ten years compared with the IRP card’s twelve months.

“A fair fee and a properly staffed service aren’t too much to ask,” Mr Bruton added. “Budget 2027 is the Government’s chance to deliver both.”

The MRCI’s submission calls on Government to:

• Cap the IRP fee at €75 for first-time registrations and €55 for renewals — a structure which would still generate approximately €16.1 million a year against €5.4 million in production costs, leaving the State a surplus of more than €10 million.
• Increase staffing at the registration division by 30%, providing 28.1 additional FTE staff at a cost of approximately €1.5 million.
• Introduce a clear, legally guaranteed grace period allowing workers to continue working until they receive a renewed card, provided they applied before their existing permission expired.