I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that representations under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) in respect of US nationals in the years 2009 to 2013 amounted to 27, 45, 63, 78 and 70 respectively. In the same period a total of nine U.S. nationals were granted discretionary permission to remain. The Deputy should appreciate that these figures constitute only a tiny fraction of the numbers of U.S. nationals who are granted permission to reside here each year. To illustrate this point, I can advise the Deputy that over 7,600 U.S. nationals were 'registered' with the Garda National Immigration Bureau at the end of 2013 with similar numbers 'registered' for previous years.