Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 October 2017
223. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of open applications for Stamp 4 being processed; the average waiting time for a decision to be made on the granting of Stamp 4; if he will allocate more resources to ensure applications are dealt with in a more timely fashion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41313/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, of my Department that a Stamp 4 signifies that the bearer has a particular immigration permission, which allows them to live and work in the State without the need for a work permit.
I am further informed that, because cases which may lead to a Stamp 4 permission being granted will have come through a wide range of immigration pathways and processes it is not possible to give an average processing time across the board. It is also the case, depending on the nature of the case, the extent of processing required will vary significantly.
I am advised, however, that at the end of 2016, approximately 59,000 people held a Stamp 4 status. Each year, approximately 18,000 applications, mostly coming through the immigration and international protection streams, are processed by INIS. Every effort is made to process applications within statutory limits and in a reasonable time frame and the allocation of resources across all processing areas of INIS is kept under regular review.
