Vol. 549 No. 3
98 Mr. Penrose asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if appeals by persons (details supplied) in relation to work permits will be processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6419/02]
The appeal by the employer concerned has been granted subject to receipt of the appropriate fee.
99 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the length of time it takes to process an application for a work permit; the reason for the delay; and her plans to improve the situation. [6485/02]
The work permits section is currently processing applications received approximately three months ago, compared with an average waiting period of eight weeks in late 2001. The processing time for work permit applications has risen due to the unprecedented number of applications that continue to be received in the Department. The number of work permit applications increased from an average of over 350 per week in 2000 to over 825 per week last year. The level of applications continued to climb during the year and in December alone, an unprecedented 5,690 applications were received.
New FÁS procedures were introduced from the beginning of this year and this has resulted, at least temporarily, in a reduction in the number of applications received. In January 2002 the figure was down to an average of 325 complete and valid applications per week. Increases in staff resources and overtime have facilitated the issue of over 36,000 work permits last year compared with some 18,000 in the year 2000. The Department is continuing to examine options for significantly reducing the processing time for the issue of work permits.
Question No. 100 answered with Question No. 97.
101 Mr. McGuinness asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if applications for work permits will be expedited for persons (details supplied). [6553/02]
It is the policy of the Department to process applications for work permits strictly in the order in which they are received. Assuming that the applications are completed correctly and are otherwise in order, processing time will take approximately 12 weeks from the date of receipt of the applications.
The processing time for work permit applications has risen due to the unprecedented number of applications received in the Department, especially in November and December 2001. The number of work permit applications increased from an average of over 350 per week in 2000 to over 825 per week last year. The level of applications climbed during the year and in December alone, an unprecedented 5,690 applications were received. New procedures were introduced with effect from 2 January 2002, and this has resulted, at least temporarily, in a reduction in the number of applications received. The average number of complete and valid applications received for the month of January 2002 was 325 applications per week. While the staff numbers in the work permits section was increased by 50% last year in an effort to reduce processing time, the very large increase in applications meant that the waiting period could not be reduced. Nevertheless, the staff in the section issued 36,436 permits in 2001 compared with 18,000 in 2000.
