Peadar Tóibín
Question:1040. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice when an application by a person (details supplied) dating from February 2022 to the Afghan admission programme will finally be processed. [12239/23]
View answerTuesday, 21 March 2023
Questions (1040)
Written answers
The persons referred to made an application to the Afghan Admission Programme which was received by my Department on 1 March 2022. I would like to take this opportunity to assure them that my Department is processing applications under the Afghan Admissions Programme as quickly as possible.
To ensure as many people as possible can avail of this important programme my Department has been liaising with representatives of the Afghan Community and with applicants directly to ensure the Afghan Admission Programme team have everything needed progress applications.
Where applicants are missing important information, such as proof of identity and familial relationships, the Afghan Admission Programme Unit contacted people directly to gather the required documents. This process is now complete and applications continue to be assessed in a pragmatic and humanitarian manner.
Processing of this application is ongoing at present. My Department commenced issuing decisions in the last quarter of 2022. Approvals issued in respect of 81 beneficiaries under the Afghan Admissions Programme up to the 31 December 2022. Up to the 3 March my Department has approved 135 applications covering 364 beneficiaries. No refusal letters have been issued. All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application as soon as is possible.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility (inisoireachtasmail@justice.ie) which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.