Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 July 2022
663. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Justice the total number of staff working on processing visa applications in her Department; if she has plans to increase this number; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39226/22]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that there are currently 62 staff employed at Clerical Officer and Executive Officer level involved in the processing of entry visas and preclearance applications. This is made up of 39 staff in Dublin and the remainder are spread across the seven overseas visa offices.
Visas are also processed at certain Embassies of the Department of Foreign Affairs which process visa applications under delegated sanction from my Department. However, I am advised that it is not possible to provide the precise numbers of such staff as the processing of visas would not be the sole duty of those staff on their posting.
The Deputy can be assured that every effort is made to keep processing times to a minimum, and a number of measures have been put in place to deal with the increased demand for visas to come to Ireland. This has included the assignment of additional staff to deal with applications, and more generally the streamlining of visa processes where possible. The position in this regard is being kept under review.
