I propose to take Questions Nos. 139, 140 and 142 together.
I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that, at the end of June, 2016 the staff allocation to INIS was 636. Staff are deployed across a wide range of activities including the broad areas of asylum and immigration processing, border management and policy areas of the organisation. In that context, the management of resources is kept under constant review having regard to business and operational requirements, and staff are deployed accordingly.
I am further advised that the current processing time for short-stay tourist visa applications by the INIS Visa Office in Dublin is approximately 10 weeks. The published processing time advertised to applicants is 8 weeks. The current timescales are due in the main to seasonal pressures coupled with a significant increase in the number of applications in all visa categories. The Deputy can be assured that every effort is being made to process these applications as quickly as possible and additional staff and staff on overtime have been deployed to that effect.
It is planned that the processing times for short-stay visit visas in Dublin will return to the normal business target of 6-8 weeks very shortly. Applications to Irish Visa Offices and Consular Missions abroad are generally processed within this business target. I understand my colleague the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has not been in touch with my office in relation to this matter.
