Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 July 2004
120 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, further to Parliamentary Question No. 252 of 22 June 2004, if his Department has received the additional documentation; if further documentation will be required; and when a decision will be taken in the matter. [19901/04]
View answerThe additional documentation referred to by the Deputy has been received and both visa applications were approved on appeal on 29 June 2004.
121 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps his Department is taking to address the fact that his Department’s visa helpline is only available for seven and a half hours per week, that during these hours it is virtually impossible to reach a visa officer and that callers to the helpline are repeatedly disconnected. [19933/04]
View answerIt is important to bear in mind that the visa section in the immigration and citizenship division does not deal with all visa applications; it only deals with those which on the basis of experience, including international experience, are more problematic and contentious. The vast majority of visa applications are granted without reference to that section as a result of a series of delegated sanctions which have been put in place over the years.
Nonetheless, in common with other areas of the immigration and citizenship division of my Department, it has seen a huge increase in recent years in its volume of business. A total of 17,100 visa applications were processed by the staff of the section in 1999, compared to 27,700 in 2003. On a weekly basis, the staff in the visa section deal with approximately 800 telephone calls, 500 faxes, 200 e-mails and a large volume of other communications and queries. In many cases those who avail of these services are not individual visa applicants but persons whose business involves securing entry to the State for large numbers of non-nationals, for example, for educational purposes. The visa section staff operate a helpline from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. During these periods five telephones on average are in operation. I have been assured that callers to the helpline are dealt with in a fair and courteous manner and are not repeatedly disconnected, as the Deputy has suggested.
The immigration division is in the process of upgrading its existing telephone system to make its operation more transparent for customers and to avoid any possibility of a mistaken impression that factors other than sheer volume have a bearing on the current situation. I intend to review the workings of the immigration division and visa section with a view to improving the quality of customer service.
