Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 January 2010
622 Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the average waiting time to process applications pertaining to persons granted refugee status here who are seeking family reunification for other family members; the number of applications awaiting a decision; the number received, approved and rejected in 2009; the steps he is taking to expedite the processing time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1581/10]
View answerI am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that they are currently processing applications from October 2008. However, due to the nature of Family Reunification they are still dealing with applications prior to that date.
The number of applications received, approved, refused in the last 12 months and the number of applications currently on hand are contained in the following table.
|
Number of applications |
|
|
Applications currently on hand awaiting decision |
1,650 |
|
Applications received in the past 12 months |
895 |
|
Applications approved in the past 12 months |
731 |
|
Applications refused in the past 12 months |
387 |
|
Applications withdrawn in the past 12 months |
142 |
Additional staff were assigned to the Family Reunification Section in the last 18 months which has led to a significant reduction in the processing time of applications.
