Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 September 2013
1120. Deputy John Lyons asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of cases in his Department currently awaiting decision based on the Zambrano judgement; and the measures being taken to address the backlog of cases. [38622/13]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that as of 31st August, 2013, approximately 800 applications of the nature referred to by the Deputy were awaiting a decision. To put that number in context about 3,100 applications have been received in total.
I am further advised that in over 400 of the cases on hand, the relevant applicants have been formally requested to submit further information or documentation before the cases in question could be considered further. While every effort is being made to process the cases on hand as quickly as possible, many of the outstanding cases are complex and, as such, will require very detailed examination before final decisions can be arrived at. Accordingly, bearing in mind the numbers of cases already processed and the information as outlined above, I do not consider there is a backlog of cases on hand.
The Deputy should also note that these figures do not include the cases of persons who are outside the State and have applied for a visa from their local Embassy or Consulate, based on the principles of the Zambrano Judgment. INIS does not record Zambrano based visa applications in such a manner that would enable those cases to be disaggregated from overall visa applications.
