I propose to take Questions Nos. 341 and 342 together.
I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the New Delhi Visa Office has been experiencing high volumes of visa applications due to seasonal demands at this time of year. This is in line with similar trends from previous years and measures have been put in place to deal with this demand. More generally, it points to an increase in visa applications from people wishing to come to Ireland for a wide variety of reasons.
I am informed that business and conference visas are currently being processed within ten days. Study visas at this time are being processed within four weeks. Employment and visit visas are currently being processed within seven weeks. Processing times for long stay visas invariably take longer and are generally determined by the volume of applications received, the particular merits of individual applications, their complexity, whether there is a need to investigate or inquire further, and the time taken to receive applicant responses.
The Deputy can be assured that every effort is being made to keep processing times to a minimum, with a number of measures put in place to deal with the expected demand this summer. This included the assignment of additional staff to help process these applications including student visa applications, and more generally the streamlining of visa processing where possible. The position continues to be kept under close review.
