Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is the figure I had in mind.

Aside from passports, one of the biggest difficulties we face, as politicians, is the issuing of visas, particularly for family members of individuals who are legally in the State and have their paperwork in order. There are extraordinary delays in turnaround compared to the United Kingdom and France. My office has done some work on this issue and there is anecdotal evidence of the same thing happening in comparison to the USA. I am trying to understand why it takes so long to obtain a visa. There are differences of opinion in certain processing offices in different countries and sometimes it depends on the region involved. I do not say this as a slight on anybody, but I have come across cases where visas were granted, albeit months later, having been refused on a couple of occasions.

It can be terribly frustrating for an individual who is living and working in the State and contributing tor the community and to the State who wants someone to come over but they are not able to do it. I am aware of cases where the person goes to visit family in the UK instead because it is easier to get into the UK, even though he or she is not a British passport holder. I am trying to understand what it is we are doing. Is it a throughput issue with so many applications at the one time and not enough staff or does the process need refining?